Tyson Foods, the largest meatpacking(肉类加工业) company in the US, announced last week that it is closing two of its facilities(工厂，设施) in Illinois and Utah and selling a beef facility in Washington state, and will lay off(裁员，解雇) hundreds of workers as the supply of cattle hits a 75-year low(触及75年最低点).
美国最大的肉类加工企业泰森食品上周宣布，将关闭位于伊利诺伊州和犹他州的两家工厂，并出售华盛顿州的一家牛肉加工厂，同时将裁员数百人，原因是牛的供应量降至75年来的最低点。
The historic cattle shortage has been driven by a multi-year drought(干旱), rising costs and severe economic pressures, including consolidation(整合，合并) among cattle ranchers. Beef prices have soared over the last year due to the shortage, though economists said the Tyson plant closures likely won’t hit consumer prices so hard.(牛肉价格因短缺而飙升，但经济学家认为泰森关闭工厂不会太冲击消费者价格。)
历史性的牛只短缺是由多年干旱、成本上升和严重的经济压力（包括牧场主之间的整合）造成的。由于短缺，牛肉价格在过去一年飙升，不过经济学家表示，泰森关闭工厂可能不会对消费者价格造成太大冲击。
Earlier this month, Tyson reported in its third-quarter earnings(收益，盈利) that beef volume(产量，交易量) is down 15.9% and beef operating loss(营业亏损) is at $138m.
本月早些时候，泰森在第三季度财报中报告称，牛肉产量下降了15.9%，牛肉业务运营亏损达1.38亿美元。