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January 25, 2007
As the shift changed at 1 p.m. Tuesday, workers leaving the Collins & Aikman plant in Port Huron said they had not been told the plant could close as soon as March 3.
“All they said is right now we’ve got (work) until July,” said Wade Dahlke of Port Huron, an operator at the automotive-plastics plant.
A company spokesman Tuesday said about 530 workers will lose their jobs if the plant is not sold by March 3. The closure could be delayed if a customer extends an order past March 3, said David Youngman, vice president of communications for Collins & Aikman.
While Youngman said a sale of the Dove Street facility is unlikely, Dahlke and other employees said they had been told there still were prospective buyers interested in the plant.
They have, however, been aware of the looming possibility of layoffs since the company filed for bankruptcy in 2005.
Youngman said employees were told of the potential closure earlier this month.
“I’m paranoid,” operator Barb Holdsworth of Port Huron said. “I’ve been here 13 years.”
As he often does on his way to his job as a process technician at the plant, Randy Davis stopped at Chef Shell’s Catering and Roadside Café on 24th Street in Port Huron Township.
While Davis of Port Huron remains optimistic, he said about three-quarters of the plant’s work force is worried about losing their jobs.
“I’m being positive,” he said. “There’s always a possibility.
“Right now my wife’s not working, so I’m the bread and butter,” he said. “It’s just tight here in Port Huron right now. … There’s no work here.”
Michelle Wrubel, who owns the Roadside Café with her husband, said there are several Collins & Aikman employees who stop by for coffee, doughnuts or sandwiches on a daily basis. She said the store would be financially affected if the plant closes.
“Anytime something leaves our community, it’s a trickle-down effect,” Wrubel said. “But I’m feeling more the personal effects for the folks who are here every day. That’s the part I’m sorry to hear.”
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