Kentucky candle factory's tornado damage may cost 250 their jobs
Mayfield Consumer Products said the closure of its plant after the Dec. 10 storm affected 501 people
Workers at a Kentucky candle factory that was destroyed when tornadoes hit the state last month are facing layoffs if they cannot be transferred to another facility.
The layoffs would affect 250 employees from the Mayfield candle factory, according to the Courier Journal of Louisville.
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Mayfield Consumer Products said in a filing that the closure of its plant after the Dec. 10 storm affected 501 people.
The company was working to open a new factory about 10 miles away in Hickory, Kentucky, when the tornado struck.
Emergency response workers dig through the rubble of the Mayfield Consumer Products candle factory in Mayfield, Ky., Saturday, Dec. 11, 2021. Tornadoes and severe weather caused catastrophic damage across multiple states late Friday, killing several
About half of the Mayfield plant's employees will transfer there.
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A spokesman for the company said Friday evening the company is "committed to the rehiring of everyone and to meeting or exceeding the employment levels it had prior to the tornado."
Those not offered a transfer are expected to be permanently laid off, the document states.
In this aerial photo, a collapsed factory is seen with workers searching for survivors, Saturday, Dec. 11, 2021, in Mayfield, Ky., after tornadoes came through the area the previous night. (Associated Press)
However, Bob Ferguson, a candle factory spokesman, told The Courier Journal in a statement the company will offer positions to everyone who received a termination notice.
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"The company is absolutely committed to standing up new manufacturing facilities in Mayfield, doing it as promptly as it can," Ferguson said, mentioning that "outreach" to the employees who received notices this week is "ongoing."
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A total of 110 people were inside the factory when it collapsed during the tornado.
Nine people died.
Several survivors have filed a lawsuit against the company, accusing it of showing a "flagrant indifference" to workers' safety.