According to meat processing company Swift & Co, immigration raids staged by the federal government at six of the company’s meatpacking plants last month are expected to cost the company up to US$30m.


The raids, targeting illegal immigrants from Latin America, rounded up around 1,300 Swift employees. The company estimates that the move will cost $20m in lost operating efficiency as new employees are hired and a further $10m to retain workers and offer incentives to hire back production workers.


Operations at the six plants were suspended for between six and seven hours while officials questioned staff, the company said in a statement. Swift said that it expects production at the plants to decline in the short term, but did not specify when production would return to normal levels.


“The company does not believe there will be a continuing effect on its business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows beyond the current fiscal year,” Swift concluded.

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