The U.S. food industry is increasingly reliant on temporary workers, a costlier and usually shorter-term solution to persistent staffing shortages at food plants, supermarkets and farms.
Supermarkets and food processors are hiring short-term staff to unload trucks, move goods and assist in-store cooks, filling holes created by employees who have left the workforce during the pandemic or are out sick temporarily from Covid-19. Executives said hiring temp workers can be expensive because they typically cost more per hour than permanent staff and require additional training.
