Tyson Foods spokesman Gary Mickelson said, "While eliminating jobs is always difficult, in this case we believe it will benefit remaining Emporia team members and hopefully give them more work hours each week."

Emporia City Manager Matt Zimmerman says, "It's a concern to see any kind of layoffs and Emporia certainly has had struggles with the economy the last few years."  He added that he was encouraged to hear of Tyson's commitment to remain in Emporia.