Carbon County commissioners expressed concern for the loss of nearly 400 jobs as one of the county’s largest employers, KME Fire Apparatus, shutters its doors next year.
“Right now, we’re looking at about 388 employees that will be affected by the layoffs in the springtime,” Sam Hellen, administrator at CareerLink in Nesquehoning, told the commissioners.
A week ago, KME’s parent company, the Milwaukee-based REV Group Inc., announced its plans to close the local facility in April, as well as one in Roanoke, Virginia.
While early in the process, CareerLink has already reached out to the Department of Labor’s Rapid Response, local industry and economic development organizations, and some employers reached out to them as well, Hellen said.
CareerLink, along with other organizations such as community colleges, will host meetings and workshops for employees as they transition from these positions to others in the region, Hellen said.
Commissioner Wayne Nothstein, who is also a Lehighton firefighter, said he has heard talk about younger employees opting to leave the company sooner, as to not lose out of a better paying job before the furloughs occur.
Those early job losses then raise the question about whether the local facility can fulfill orders — many of them for local fire companies — before the facility ceases operation, he said.
Both Lehighton and Hazleton have orders into KME for fire apparatus. Hazleton is expecting two pumpers by the end of the year, and a ladder truck in March — the month before the closure. Hazleton’s ladder truck could be one of the last off the line.
The Department of Labor’s Rapid Response has been called in to assist, Hellen said, and a meeting is scheduled next week, when additional information about the employees, such as age and backgrounds, will be assessed.
Rapid Response also works with employers to maintain productivity and make orders, but also helps affected employees, Hellen said. Sometimes, the team can work with employers on layoff aversion, but that doesn’t seem to be the case here, he said.
On the other hand, many other employers are hiring, Hellen said, noting that one 20-year CareerLink employee told him that there have never been as many jobs as right now. And it’s understandable if some affected employees choose to leave, he said.
“We are encouraging all employers to make sure to register with CareerLink, and I would encourage anyone that is affected to contact us,” Hellen said.
The county dealt with the loss of about 225 jobs when New England Motor Freight filed for bankruptcy in 2019 with little or no notice to people who worked there.
“The dynamics of this are going to be a little bit different, and we’ll see how they play out, because we rarely get this kind of advance notice,” said Gary Wentz, executive director of the Pocono Counties Workforce Investment Area.
“We basically got three days notice on (NEMF), and this is seven months,” he said.
Wentz explained that he knows folks who work at the plant as well, and some younger employees may not wait and start looking for other jobs now. That may alter their layoff schedule, he said.
Layoffs could occur sooner, Wentz said, if the company starts losing skilled employees that they have in the past struggled to hire.
“It might have an impact on the production schedule that they currently have,” he said. “It might end up accelerating things, but it’s all speculation at this point.”
The company has offered a separation package for employees, which included additional money based on the number of years of service, Wentz said.
“So someone that’s only been there a couple of years, it’s not a big financial reason for them to stick around if they find a better opportunity in the interim,” he said, adding that it’s too early to say what will happen.
Nothstein noted that he had to make that difficult decision many years ago when Bethlehem Steel closed, and he had to the opportunity to move into EMA and did, he said.
“Those employees are in the same situation,” he said. “If the opportunity is there, they’re not going to sit and wait for another position, especially if it’s local.”
Nothstein added that they may not want to trek to the Lehigh Valley or Hazleton, where Hellen said there are jobs available now.
In addition to providing a separation package, KME is also willing to help its employees navigate the road ahead working with CareerLink, Workforce and Rapid Response, Wentz said.
“The company is very cooperative,” he said. “We don’t anticipate any problems with making arrangements.”
However, several meetings with employees will need to be scheduled, due to the number of employees affected, he said. They hope multiple sessions onsite will be able to be arranged.
Meetings and workshops will start closer to the anticipated closure — possibly in February and March, and his team will be willing to work with employees on resumes, job training and even guide them through online benefits.
