Tyson Provides $1.2 Million to Support Active Duty Team Members

Differential pay instituted after September 11, 2001

 Springdale, Arkansas – November 9, 2007 – Thanks to a Tyson Foods, Inc. (NYSE: TSN) policy in support of the U.S. military, David Rook did not have to take a cut in pay when he was called to leave his job at Tyson to serve with his National Guard unit in Iraq.

 The policy, instituted after September 11, 2001, provides differential pay for all Tyson Team Members called to active military duty.  It makes up any difference between their military compensation and the pay they normally receive from Tyson. 

 Since it was initiated, Tyson Team Members called to active duty have received more than $1.2 million in supplemental compensation from the company.   

Rook, an area safety manager for Tyson who is also a National Guard platoon sergeant, is one of 124 Tyson Team Members who have benefited from the policy since it was implemented.  

  “It’s been huge for me,” said Rook, a resident of Springdale, Arkansas, who served in Iraq from July 2005 to November 2006.  “I’m thankful for the company’s position on differential pay. Our family would have faced financial trouble without it.”

 “As we said when we implemented this policy, we’re proud and grateful for the sacrifices made by Tyson Team Members who protect our country through their military service,” said Richard L. Bond, president and CEO of Tyson Foods.  “We don’t want them to have to worry about their financial well-being while they’re away from home as they serve in Iraq, Afghanistan or some other part of the world.”

 Tyson plans to continue its differential pay policy, which is coordinated by the company’s Human Resources Department.  Over the years, beneficiaries have included Team Members who have been deployed for active duty more than once.