Brazil's JBS donates $120 million to combat COVID-19
As coronavirus infections hit more JBS meat packing plants in Brazil and the United States, the company announces it will donate 700 million reais ($120 million) to initiatives aimed combating the outbreak.
12 May 2020
1 minute read
Reuters reports that the company made the announcement in a securities filing. The funds will be used "to help the communities where its team members live and work around the world" as meat processors battle novel coronavirus infections in their workforce.
In Brazil, the company will donate 400 million reais to support public health and social assistance initiatives in 17 states, including by providing personal protective equipment and food, and funding the construction of hospitals.
Some 300 million reais will be donated to fight COVID-19 mainly in the United States where the company operates several beef and pork plants, according to the filing.
According to the UFCW, a union that represents more than 250,000 meatpacking and food processing workers, at least 30 meat packing workers have died of COVID-19 and more than 10,000 have contracted it in the US.
At least 30 meat-packing workers have died of COVID-19 and more than 10,000 have contracted it in the United States, according to a union representing more than 250,000 meatpacking and food processing workers.
Multiple JBS processing plants have temporarily shuttered to contain outbreaks.
Other meat plants could be soon be disrupted as Brazil's rate of infected people continue to rise.
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