Cargill is working to put together an assistance package for the 800 employees who were left without work when the company's Booneville meat-packing plant was all but destroyed in a weekend explosion.

The fire and series of explosions Sunday leveled most of the Cargill Meat Solutions plant, though the freezer section apparently did not have heavy damage. The plant in Booneville, population 4,000, was the largest employer in Logan County.

Cargill spokesman Mark Klein says the company is waiting to evaluate the still-smoldering site. Only then will it be able to
determine how long the plant will be out of production.

Klein says the company will tell employees at a meeting on Thursday about the assistance package. Klein would not disclose details of the package. He says the particulars are still being developed.

State economic officials say they want to discuss the future of the plant with Cargill executives and examine any assistance that may be available.

Vanessa Wyrick, executive director of the Booneville Development Corporation, says officials are establishing a task force in Little Rock to address how to ensure the Cargill plant reopens.

Minneapolis-based Cargill had 2007 revenue of $88.3 billion. The company, which produces food, agricultural and risk
management products and services, has 158,000 employees in 66 countries.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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