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September 22, 2009
Three months and a week after a gas explosion ripped apart portions of the ConAgra plant on Jones Sausage Road, killing three people and injuring dozens more, the Omaha, Neb.-based food-maker says it will shed 326 jobs at the site in mid-November.
Sgt. Joe Binns of the Garner Police Department and Mayor Ronnie Williams report on the state of the plant explosion back in June.
Sgt. Joe Binns of the Garner Police Department and Mayor Ronnie Williams report on the state of the plant explosion back in June.
The announcement comes after the plant resumed some operations this summer while federal and state safety officials continued to investigate the site. The company says the job cuts are directly connected to the June 9 accident.
“It was a very difficult decision,” company spokesman Dave Jackson said. “We didn’t want to do it, but at the same time we can only produce about half of the product that we did prior to the accident. We can’t continue to run half a plant with a full staff if this brand and this company are going to stay healthy.”
The company met in a town hall meeting with 600 employees Wednesday, Sept. 16 to inform them of the layoffs. Since the accident, the company has been paying all employees who are unable to work for 40 hours a week. Those payments stopped, however, as of Monday, Sept. 21.
The 70 workers still displaced because of injuries are eligible for workers’ compensation and will be paid through that, Jackson said.
‘Another blow to us’
Workers were stunned and disappointed by the news.
“It is just another blow to us,” employee George Williams said. “First, we had the explosion, and now we hear there are going to be all of these layoffs.” He works in packaging at the plant and has been there for more than 30 years.
The layoffs will be decided based on seniority and production needs in accordance with the company’s union contract, Jackson said. Before the incident, the plant employed about 900 workers. With the departure of 100 to 150 temporary employees, there are 750 employees. Plant managers plan to meet with employees privately in the weeks ahead to tell them whether they are being let go.
Despite the length of his tenure, George Williams, like others, is uncertain whether he will keep his job.
Workers weren’t the only ones stunned by the news. Town officials learned of the layoffs the same day in a meeting with company representatives. They are trying to remain positive in the face of losing nearly half the workforce from the town’s largest employer.
“At least it wasn’t 750 jobs lost,” Mayor Ronnie Williams said.
Celebration time?
Mayor William is puzzled by the timing of the announcement, however — less than a month after company officials threw a community celebration and dedication ceremony at Lake Benson Park for all employees and their families.
“Seeing the optimism, the encouragement and the commitment of the company at that event, I would have never guessed that a few weeks later we would be looking at hundreds of people being laid off,” he said. “It’s almost contradictory. I don’t fully understand why they done that the way they done it.”
Jackson said that at the time of the event the company knew that layoffs were an option but that they had not made a final decision.
“I don’t think it was decided at that point. … It’s been a possibility ever since the accident that could have potentially been out there,” Jackson said. “But it wasn’t something we were going to communicate until we knew it was a step that we had to make.”
The celebration caught others off guard too.
“I think everybody was surprised by yesterday’s [announcement],” George Williams said.
‘A business decision’
Before the accident, the Garner plant had processed and packaged all of the company’s Slim Jim products. Since then, ConAgra has resumed production but with limited packaging at the Garner site. Some operations were moved to another plant in Ohio or have been handled by third-parties.
The packaging side of the plant was devastated by explosions in the June 9 incident. Investigators believe the explosion started because of a gas leak that occurred in one of the building’s pump rooms during the installation of a commercial hot-water heater. The U.S. Chemical Safety board has said it suspects that contract workers vented a gas line into the room.
Several employees have filed lawsuits against some companies whose contract workers were associated with the water heater or involved in its installation. The companies deny responsibility for the incident.
Williams and other local leaders hope the 400 jobs that remain indicate that the company wishes to stay in town for the long-term. In the meantime, they have dedicated several staff departments to helping the company fast track its efforts to rebuild as well as providing some buildings as temporary offices and space. The company says it would consider bringing back workers if its production capacity expands in the future.
Beyond this year, the company is still unclear about its plans to stay in Garner, Jackson said.
“With this arrangement that we have right now… debris will be removed in mid-December. Once that’s done, and we see how this process works, we’ll make a decision about what the long-term production plan is.”
In the meantime, workers and the town are trying to make the best of the situation.
“It is a business decision,” Mayor Williams said, “… and I have to accept it.”
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