Closing Time: Barnwell County Losing Another Plant
Alternative content
Closing Time: Barnwell County Losing Another Plant...
It?s the third plant in the last three months to bring bad news to Barnwell County. Officials with Alliance Air Enterprises, located in Blackville, SC, announced they are beginning the process of...
It’s the third plant in the last three months to bring bad news to Barnwell County. Officials with Alliance Air Enterprises, located in Blackville, SC, announced they are beginning the process of shutting down, and taking away 350 jobs. The unemployment line continues to grow in one of the state’s highest unemployment areas. WJBF News Channel 6’s Joy Howe has more.
Published: February 5, 2009
Updated: February 5, 2009
Blackville, SC—The food and the smiles are warm at Hattie and Fannie’s Kitchen in Blackville, South Carolina, but the news about their neighbor closing has left a cold feeling.
Mae Stroman, Allied Air Employee: “At 2:30, we got called to a meeting. Our CEO came in, told us about the downsizing, and everything was going down.“
Allied Air Enterprises becomes the latest plant to shut down in Barnwell County. It’s more than just 300 jobs downsized, morale is going down, too.
Rev. Levi Daniels, Blackville, SC: “It’s not really like it should be.“
The news from Allied Air comes on the heels of Hanesbrands’ same announcement, 300 jobs lost…and Milliken’s Barnwell plant, 125 more added to the unemployment line.
Theotis Miller, Barnwell County: “I’m unemployed now, and I go down to the unemployment office, looking for jobs…”
Daniels: “It’s packed, it’s packed.“
Miller: “…and there’s so many people there, you can’t hardly get in the place.“
Three plants lost in three months in this area, nearly 1,000 people ending up, here, at the Barnwell County Unemployment Office.
Torienia Tucker, Barnwell County Unemployment Office: “Very busy, we will be extremely busy the next few months.“
Allied Air Enterprises has 350 people at its Blackville plant…and like other plants before it, officials announced some jobs will be transferred out of the country.
Daniels: “And it’s not right, we should be giving all our work to people in America.“
Fannie says there’s one way for her customers, her friends, to survive:
Fannie: “It’s like I tell them, we all need to pray.”
Tucker: “We’re going to survive this as a community. Everybody’s been working together, all the leaders been coming together, brainstorming on how we can pull Barnwell back on top.“
Stroman: “This will bring the county together, even though we are unemployed, it’s going to bring a lot of people closer together.“
Allied Air officials say 50 of their 350 jobs will be either transferred to their Orangeburg plant or sent down to Mexico beginning at the end of this year.
The plant makes air conditioning and heating products.
Advertisement
Advertisement