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Cargill’s Assisted Housing Program. Background:. Our facility at Schuyler is one of Cargill’s 8 beef-processing plants in North America and was established in 1968. We are currently the largest employer in the county with over 1900 employees from a wide range of backgrounds and nationalities.
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Background: • Our facility at Schuyler is one of Cargill’s 8 beef-processing plants in North America and was established in 1968. • We are currently the largest employer in the county with over 1900 employees from a wide range of backgrounds and nationalities.
Employment Challenges • Maintaining such a large workforce requires both local and long-distant recruiting. • During busy hiring times we must look outside the area to meet our hiring goals. • We have achieved this through mobile recruiting in areas with high unemployment
Employment Challenges cont… • The amount of work this entails has required us to hire a full-time recruiting specialist. • We have also assigned a relocation specialist at the facility that manages the relocation process.
Relocation • New hires are provided with resources and contacts for housing in the area. • Air or bus travel is provided by Cargill and new hires are given the option of taking loans.
Relocation cont… • New hires are often relocated in groups of 20 to 30 per week. • Many of them choose to room together due to limited housing options and to lower cost.
Housing Challenges • Schuyler’s population increased by 33% during the 90’s while households only increased 7%. • Our new hires often arrive with little or no money and many leave family behind to come to work. • Very few new hires arrive with their own transportation and due to the difficulty and cost of transporting, possessions such as furniture are often left behind.
Housing Challenges cont… • For this reason, our focus has been on rental properties and apartments rather than homes for sale. • Most of our new hires do not have the means to purchase a home upon arrival.
Housing Challenges cont… • Many of our candidates come from larger metropolitan areas and are accustomed to having a wider range of housing choices than this area can offer. • Finding available housing has been very difficult as the Columbus, Schuyler, and David City areas have been depleted of available rentals.
Housing Challenges cont… • Our local businesses stand to benefit from an influx of new consumers; however, without housing our businesses are losing out on this opportunity. • Example: We recently had a group of approximately 100 new hires that were scheduled to move into the area but we could not find housing for the group.
Cargill and the Community’s Response • Area businesses, community and government representatives are working together for solutions • Housing forums have been held and reference has been made to Schuyler’s Housing Assessment and Strategy Plan (available @ www.ci.schuyler.ne.us).
Cargill and the Community’s Response cont… • Our PR Dept has met with the Governor and the Mayor of Columbus. • A shuttle service has been started that is available to bring employees from Fremont & Columbus.
Plans for Future Challenges • At the moment, the Fremont area has provided us with much needed housing opportunities. • Schuyler’s community leaders are also working with various housing consultants toward long-term solutions.
Visit our websites: • http://www.ichoosecargill.com • http://www.cargillmeatsolutions/Schuyler/employment.htm • http://www.cargill.com • http://www.cargillmeatsolutions.com
