Millen Plant Leaving Could Mean Devastation For City

Millen, GA—Rebecca Walker, Lives In Millen, GA:  “One minute they say they’re closing it down, the next minute they say they’re just laying people off, the next minute they say they’re hiring people back, I don’t know.”

Mayor King Rocker, Millen: “We’ve heard there’s a chance that they may close it, we don’t know, we’re still in the dark.”

Not a place where the head of Millen really wants to be. Mayor King Rocker says to lose a plant like Cavalier Homes would be devastating for the city.

Mayor Rocker: “It’s been good to a lot of people.”

We talked with someone from Southern Energy Homes, the company set to merge with Cavalier…but they wouldn’t comment on whether or not the plant would close once the sale goes through.  Something that doesn’t sit well for a small town of 3,000 and a county with the highest unemployment rate in Georgia.

Walker: “It would probably put a toll in Millen because my step daddy works there for one, and I don’t know what he would do.”

Andy Cunningham, Lives In Millen, GA: “If they shut down, for good, then that would probably put hundreds of people out of jobs and just more people on food stamps and just mess it all up.”

Mayor Rocker: “I think that a lot of people are jumping to a lot of conclusions, right now, but hopefully we’ll get an answer here shortly and kind of know what’s going on.”

Mayor Rocker says that as far as he knows folks can head to work on Monday, they just closed down for the week which isn’t abnormal when production is low.

This wouldn’t be the first plant to close in Jenkins County. Within 5 years, the county has lost more than 1,500 jobs, after 3 different plants closed. That includes big job losses at MI Windows and Doors, Jockey International, and Millen Sportswear. Not too long ago, Cavalier Homes employed more than 500, but layoffs came their way…and now they’re down to about 100.