Smithfield Foods, Inc. (SFD)

Pork processor and hog producer. Read October 2, 2026 from the annual report for the period ending December 28, 2025, filed March 24, 2026. Ranked 30 of the 31 Consumer Defensive companies read so far, by the share within reach now.

The filing states approximately 32,000 employees in the U.S. and 2,500 in Mexico, 44% unionized, with no count by segment, so processing and hog production take their shares of segment sales (c).

The figures on this page come from the company's own annual report and from BLS staffing patterns for its industries, never from a roster. They are estimates with a stated method. Nothing here says what the company will do: within reach is not a forecast of jobs lost or of savings.

What follows from the reading

Share of working time within reach of AI, on the long-run pace at four in five: 9% now, 13% at the end of 2027, 14% at the end of 2028, 14% at the end of 2030. By the patterns, the work is about 14% desk work, 6% people work and 80% body work. These are the site's industry estimates weighted by the shares below: estimates with a stated method and range, not a forecast of what the company will do. By the same patterns, at the end of 2028 about 84% of the working time stays with people (conversation, in-person and hands-on work), 11% becomes checking a model's work and 4% could be handed over with lighter checks, from the industries' own figures, not the company's roles.

Headcount

34,500 employees as of December 28, 2025 (sum of stated parts). Approximately 32,000 of 34,500 employees are in the U.S. and 2,500 in Mexico.

The filing: “As of December 28, 2025, we had approximately 32,000 employees in the U.S. and approximately 2,500 in Mexico, with approximately 44% of our total workforce covered by collective bargaining agreements or are members of labor unions.”

The workforce as industry patterns

What the filing says about the workforce: Approximately 32,000 employees in the U.S. and 2,500 in Mexico, summed under rule 2; about 44% of the total workforce covered by collective bargaining agreements or union members; the filing reports the acquisition of Argal, a Spanish packaged meats producer with about 1,480 employees.

Companies read with the same leading pattern

Other companies whose largest staffing pattern is also Animal Slaughtering and Processing, largest first, each read from its own annual report. Within reach now and at the end of 2028, long-run pace, four in five.

• Tyson Foods (TSN, 133,000 employees)10% now, 16% by 2028
• Pilgrim's Pride Corporation (PPC, 63,000 employees)9% now, 13% by 2028

What the filing says about AI

4 sentences in the filing name AI. The filing names artificial intelligence among its cybersecurity monitoring tools and among attackers' techniques, and, with robotic process automation, among the technologies of an initiative it says will drive improvements in operational efficiency and productivity.

• “In particular, cyberattacks are increasingly utilizing artificial intelligence, making them more complex and harder to detect and defend against.”
• “Through advanced analytics, automated alerts, behavioral analytics, threat intelligence and artificial intelligence, security anomalies are identified in a timely manner.”
• “As part of this initiative, we will employ new and advanced technologies, including artificial intelligence and robotic process automation, that will allow us to drive significant improvements in operational efficiency and productivity.”
• “As part of this initiative, we will employ new and advanced technologies, including artificial intelligence and robotic process automation, that will allow us to drive significant improvements in operational efficiency and productivity.”

Its annual reports, year by year

Sentences naming AI in each annual report, counted by one rule, beside the median report in the Index that year. Each count links its filing. Every company, by year and sector

• Fiscal 20240median 4
• Fiscal 20254median 10

Headcount by filing year

As reported in each year's annual report, with the filing. A year marked not read had no figure the reading could take from the report's text.

Limits of this reading

• The headcount is the sum of the stated U.S. and Mexico counts (rule 2); the collector's pick was the U.S. count alone.
• Shares by segment revenue (c); hog farming is read at support activities for animal production for lack of a farming pattern.

Source: the company's annual report on EDGAR, accession 0000091388-26-000014, the filing. Read by Claude Fable 5.1 under rubric version 1, by the method. A company can write to info@stratussc.com to have its reading checked against its filing.