Tyson Foods’ planned closure of its beef processing plant in Lexington, Nebraska, may have violated a century-old antitrust law, Independent U.S. Senate Candidate Dan Osborn said during a visit to the town Tuesday.
Osborn, who’s aiming to unseat Republican incumbent Pete Ricketts in 2026, was joined by a Texas antitrust attorney to call on the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Department of Justice (DOJ), and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to file a lawsuit under the 1921 Packers and Stockyards Act to compel Tyson to sell its plant to a competitor, instead of closing on Jan. 20.
“When I first heard about the closure before Thanksgiving, it brought back a lot of emotions for me,” Osborn said, referring to his past employment at Omaha’s now-closed Kellogg’s plant. “I know how hopeless people can feel when they’ve given a life of loyalty to a corporation, working through holidays and weekends, 12-16 hour shifts. There’s a sense of betrayal that comes with your loyalty being broken.”
The plant’s closure will layoff 3,200 workers in Lexington — a town of roughly 11,000 — amounting to nearly 30% of the local workforce. Cascading layoffs from other businesses supporting the plant have also been reported.
“These ripple effects don’t show up in Tyson’s quarterly earning report but they’re real and they’re devastating,” Osborn said. “What I don’t buy is that Tyson is simply just doing good business.”
Osborn raised questions about whether Tyson’s decision to closure the plant outright, without selling it to a competitor, runs afoul of the 104-year-old landmark antitrust law, designed to ensure fair competition and transparency in the livestock, meat, and poultry industries. Basel Musharbash, an antitrust and trade regulation lawyer from Paris, Texas, agreed.
“The law is on Lexington’s side,” he said. “The Department of Agriculture and the Department of Justice can, indeed, file a lawsuit seeking to force Tyson either to keep this plant open or sell it to a competitor who will.”
“By shutting down a plant that slaughters such a large portion of the cattle in this region and the country, Tyson will singlehandedly reshape the nation’s cattle markets from boom to bust,” Musharbash continued. “With this single decision, Tyson will cut down demand for the cattle raised by ranchers around the country, and it will reduce the number of buyers competing for that cattle, too. As a result, ranchers will be forced to accept lower prices, and Tyson will be able to make higher profits.”
For fiscal 2025, Tyson revenue topped $54.44 billion, up 2.1% from prior year.
“I’m not an anti-capitalist,” Osborn clarified. “I understand the value of capitalism. But unchecked capitalism is certainly where I think we’re starting to tread into.”
In an exclusive follow up, KLIN News got Osborn’s reaction to recent comments from Ricketts, in which the Senator said he’s been in direct talks with Tyson’s CEO Donnie King regarding plans to repurpose the plant.
“Market-based solutions. Again. That’s all you get with this guy. Corporate buzzwords,” Osborn said. “That’s his people. Both those guys make millions of dollar per year. I want to be out here talking to the workers and advocating for them, because nobody’s advocating for them and holding Tyson responsible… Nobody on the top ever takes cuts. It always comes from the bottom. It always comes from the people who help put food on people’s tables every day.”
According to the campaign finance tracking site Open Secrets, Tyson donated $2,500 to Ricketts during the 2023-24 election cycle.
“We’ll see what comes of their discussion, but I’m not going to hold my breath.”
The American Job Center in downtown Lincoln has called upon area employers with job opportunities to participate in a worker relocation program, in hopes to assist 40 workers and their families find new employment in Lancaster or Saunders Counties.