Brazil's BRF to furlough 1,400 poultry workers for months
SAO PAULO/BRASILIA, July 10 (Reuters) - BRF SA, one of the world's largest pork and poultry processors, said on Tuesday it would furlough 1,400 workers at a plant in southern Brazil for up to five months, following on a major restructuring plan announced last month.
The furloughs will affect staff associated with the chicken slaughtering and processing lines in its Chapeco unit in Santa Catarina state and begin on Aug. 29, BRF said in a statement. It did not specify how many people work at the plant.
A union representing workers at the plant confirmed in a Facebook post that it had agreed to the furloughs.
BRF is in the midst of an overhaul after weak financial results and a federal probe over allegations that it evaded food safety checks led shareholders to demand a shakeup of the company's management. The restructuring plan approved by the board on June 29 included selling assets in Europe, Argentina and Thailand and cutting 5 percent of its staff. (Reporting by Alberto Alerigi Jr and Jake Spring)
