To clarify, the workers moving to Tyson aren't working on the food production. They're doing similar work that they did at Micron: maintaining and repairing chemical systems.
Is this a situation where technical and colloquial language mean different things, like when a company counts every molecule involved in a process is called a chemical? Like if you used water to clean the meat then it would be considered another chemical used?
If the answer is no, how do the skills necessary to build the two types of plants overlap? If I was asked an hour ago if I thought the same skills necessary to maintain chemical systems in a chip fab we’re the same kind of skills necessary to maintain a meat processing plant, then I would have confidently said no.
These are the guys hooking up valves, fixing pipes, monitoring how chemicals are loaded from the trucks into the plant systems... doesn't much matter that's flowing through the pipes- the workers can read the data sheets and procedures and work on anything.
Again, these are blue collar jobs. High school education at best. Mostly a manual labor job. They're not designing the plant, just operating and repairing it according to plans designed by someone else.
EDIT: Here's a list of chemicals used in meat processing: https://www.osha.gov/meatpacking/hazards-solutions. Ammonia for refrigeration. Chlorine, hydrogen peroxide and peracetic acid for disinfectant. The chemicals are delivered to the plant in concentrated forms and diluted for use.
A lot of what go into both are the same: Water, heat, filtration, purification, etc.
In fact, a lot of chemical engineering (some would say the lion's share) has to do with heat and water management. It's a huge factor whether you're operating a clean room or an oil refinery.
