Workforce absences fueled by COVID-19’s Omicron variant are causing continued supply chain issues in U.S. food system and are leaving gaps on supermarket shelves, reports The Wall Street Journal.
In Arizona, one in 10 processing plant and distribution workers at a major produce company were recently out sick, according to the report. In Massachusetts, employee illnesses have slowed the flow of fish to supermarkets and restaurants. A grocery chain in the U.S. Southeast had to hire temporary workers after roughly one-third of employees at its distribution centers fell ill.
Eddie Quezada, produce manager at a Stop & Shop store in Northport, New York, said Omicron has stretched his department more than any previous wave of the pandemic, with one in five of his staff contracting COVID-19 in early January. Deliveries also have taken a hit, he said: Earlier in the month he received only 17 of the 48 cases of strawberries he had ordered. “There is a domino effect in operations,” Quezada said.
Even as the wave of infections wanes, food-industry executives warn that the situation could persist for weeks or months, leaving a broader range of products in short supply with availability sometimes changing daily. Full Story (Subscription Required)
Related: Supply Chain Interruptions Stalled Specialty Makers, Retailers; Walmart to Hire 20,000 Supply Chain Employees.