Words by

grapevine

Despite many Icelanders still being without jobs, slaughterhouses cannot seem to find locals to hire, and have turned instead to hiring temps from abroad.
Sigmundur Einar Ófeigsson, the director of Norðlenska, lamented the situation, saying, “We’ve tried to get Icelanders, but their interest [in working in a slaughterhouse] is little.”
Of the 140 workers at slaughterhouses in Húsavík and Höfn í Hornafirði, 90 of them are from overseas.
The workers hail from numerous countries, primarily Britain and Scandinavia, although some have come from as far afield as Cuba.
110,000 sheep will be slaughtered by Norðlenska this fall, averaging 2,000 per day in Húsavík and 1,000 per day in Hornafjörður.