Tyson Foods is requiring its employees at all of its U.S. office locations to be fully vaccinated by Oct. 1, it announced Tuesday.
Other employees will be required to be fully vaccinated by Nov. 1, depending on continued discussion with locations represented by unions, according to a news release from the Springdale-based company.
"Almost half of Tyson Foods' U.S. workforce has been vaccinated," the release states.
"With rapidly rising COVID-19 case counts of contagious, dangerous variants leading to increasing rates of severe illness and hospitalization among the U.S. unvaccinated population, this is the right time to take the next step to ensure a fully vaccinated workforce," said Dr. Claudia Coplein, Tyson's chief medical officer.
The company has hosted more than 100 vaccination events for team members across the country. More opportunities for employee vaccinations will be planned, according to the release.
"The company will also provide $200 to its frontline team members, subject to ongoing discussions with locations represented by unions," the release states. "This is an expansion of the company's existing policy of compensating workers for up to four hours of regular pay if they are vaccinated outside of their normal shift or through an external source."