JBS plant in Brazil allowed to reopen

[caption id="attachment_4756" align="aligncenter" width="1014"] File Photo[/caption] Brazilian meatmaker JBS SA has been allowed to reopen its poultry plant in the southern city of Passo Fundo after the coronavirus spread among its employees. The company said on Friday (July 3, 2020). “JBS confirms the resumption of activities in Passo Fundo,” the company said. According to court documents seen by Reuters, judge Vania Maria Cunha Mattos understood that halting operations until an appeal is ruled could hurt economic activities. “(It would) disrupt the entire production chain, with unequivocal damage not only to jobs - direct and indirect - but also to tax collection and leave the population in general short of supplies,” the court document said. Her decision comes after an appeals court in Rio Grande do Sul state overturned a lower labor court ruling allowing JBS to reopen the Passo Fundo chicken plant on May 21 after an initial closure on April 24 triggered by an outbreak of COVID-19. Source: Online/SZK