NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) - Large and small companies are closed due to nationwide immigration protests.

The nation's largest meat processor Tyson Foods Inc. (Research) said nine of its more than 100 plants had suspended operations May 1 because of a lack of workers.

Immigration reform No ditches and dirty plates Small business owners are sweating over Congress' debates because they fear a future without 'guest workers.' (Full story.) More stories Debate over the jobs Americans 'just won't do' Wal-Mart pays $11M over illegal labor Notes From the Underground Economy

"We understand the sentiment behind the May 1st events, but we are not encouraging workers to participate in the rally," Tyson spokesman Gary Mickelson told CNN.

The second largest meat processor, Cargill Inc., closed beef and pork plants in Iowa, Kansas, Illinois, Texas, Nebraska and Colorado.

And No. 3 meat processor Swift & Co. closed four out of five beef plants and two out of three pork plants.

Seaboard Corp. (Research) closed its Guymon, Oklahoma, pork plant to allow workers to attend rallies, the company said.

Perdue Farms also closed eight of its 14 processing plants because of an expected lack of workers Monday.

Secaucus, N.J.-based Goya Foods announced that it would suspend deliveries in recognition of the rallies.

Major restaurant companies such as IHOP Corp. (Research), Applebee's International Inc. (Research) and Olive Garden parent Darden Restaurants Inc. (Research) said they had been planning for Monday's rallies for several weeks.

"This is definitely a situation that we were able to plan for," said Applebee's spokesman Frank Ybarra, who added that employees in Texas and California had shown the most interest in taking the day off.

IHOP spokesman Patrick Lenow said some of the chain's restaurants were prepared to offer a limited menu or even close if staff failed to show up to work, but added those plans had not been implemented.

In Los Angeles' predominantly Latino neighborhood of Echo Park, mom-and-pop bakeries joined other businesses in closing for the day. The same was true in a largely Hispanic area of Jersey City, N.J., where a normally busy Mexican restaurant was closed at lunch time.

A shortage of workers also extended to some restaurant chains. McDonald's Corp. (Research), for instance, said some of its restaurants were operating with limited staff or were just running their drive-thrus.

"Some of our employees may be participating in today's activities. We respect their right to do so. To meet our customers' needs, some of our restaurants may be operating with limited crew, limited hours, or drive-thru service only," William Whitman, a McDonald's spokesman said.

Overall, however, experts said most restaurants were operating normally and estimated the rallies would have a limited impact on the industry since many had rejigged their schedules to accommodate workers who wanted the day off.

"The actual economic damage will be minimal because they will be able to double up on shifts," said Malcolm Knapp, president of restaurant research firm Malcolm M. Knapp Inc.

A spokeswoman for the National Restaurant Association, Chrissy Shott, said the trade group had heard some restaurants were attempting to be flexible with workers shifts by sending one or two employees to the rallies as representatives. She could not estimate how many of the restaurant industry's 1.6 million immigrant workers had asked for the day off or stayed home.

Other industries were also impacted. Last week, music store chain Ritmo Latino said it would close all of its 45 outlets Monday in order to show support.

-----------------

Program note: Find out how the immigrant walk out could affect you. Watch Lou Dobbs Tonight, 6 p.m. ET on CNN.

-- Reuters contributed to this report