The 73-year-old mayor was
lamenting the announcement that came this
week, giving truth to rumors that had
spread through the community for more than
a month.
Burlington Industries is
pulling out, leaving 850 workers
stranded.
Burlington Industries is going
to India and Mexico, shattering both the
financial foundation and the spirit of
this east central Mississippi community
of 1,148 now suffering souls.
Adding to the fear that is
causing the townspeople to tremble is
the word from Burlington that severance
packages promised to workers years ago
are being severed. At least, said
Burlington officials, benefits promised
by the company are being cut in
half.
"It's the severance package
deal that has our people angry," said
Danny Southern, a veteran of 29 years
with Burlington.
Burlington has made no
announcement to its employees that the
severance package is being reduced,
Southern said. The workers learned that
on the Internet.
They also learned that the
company, while slashing termination
benefits to workers in the plants, has
announced that it will more than double
the salaries and add bonus benefits on
top of the pay raises, to the company's
top 71 managers.
When the company announced in
late 2001 that it was filing for
bankruptcy, it also said its chief
executive officer George Henderson would
receive about $750,000 in incentive pay
plus a $1.3 million bonus if the company
emerges from its Chapter 11 bankruptcy
before February 14, 2003.
The Greensboro, N.C., based
company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy
protection in November, citing $1.1
billion in debt. Corporations file for
Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection to keep
creditors at bay while they try to
restructure and reduce debt.
Both the retention plan for
executive employees and severance
reduction for plant workers were
included in the bankruptcy petition
filed in federal court in Delaware.
A federal court hearing on the
petition was scheduled for Friday.
Companies under Chapter 11
protection usually offer hefty
incentives and bonuses to their top
managers, said Sam McNeil, who
specializes in bankruptcy restructurings
as a Charlotte-based investment banker
for River Capital Associates.
The company plans to continue
operations under reorganization.
In addition to the plant in
Stonewall, Burlington is planning to
shut down operations in Mount Holly,
N.C., Halifax, Va., Clarksville, Va.,
and its garment operation in
Aguascalientes, Mexico.
"They (Burlington) told us in
a meeting here that the plant would be
shut down by the end of March," said
Southern. "They said they would give us
60 days notice as to when our jobs would
be gone."
Southern added, "I don't know
what we are going to do. It seems to us
our jobs are going to Asia and Mexico.
This closing will have a major impact on
our economy. They are no other jobs in
Stonewall."
Southern said he earlier
thought about applying for work at the
new Nissan assembly plant in Madison
County when he heard rumors of
Burlington's closing, but he decided to
take his chances with the company where
he has worked for 29 years. He is a
maintenance analysis planner in the
Burlington operation.
"Burlington has been a good
citizen," said Mayor Gilbert. "They even
contributed $50,000 for fire fighting
equipment."
The Mayor, however, noted that
morale within the plant has declined in
the past year and a half.
"Our people are hurt by the
closing, and some are angry," the Mayor
continued.
"Most of our people have given
their lives to Burlington. Many of the
employees have worked in the plant for
40 to 50 years. In some families, both
the husband and the wife have worked in
the plant."
The Mayor is concerned about
the families of the 850 employees and he
is also concerned about the impact of
the plant closing on his town.
Burlington purchases water and
power from the city, and those revenues,
fears the Mayor, will disappear, leaving
a large gap in the city's financial
base.
The closing will also leave a
large gap in the economic base for the
area, with workers coming from as far
away as Alabama to the east and from
several Mississippi counties to the
south and west, including Jones County,
and families of some students at Jones
County Junior College are employed at
Burlington.
The company produces up scale
denim wear in the Stonewall plant, an
operation that will be moved to Mexico,
a company spokesman said.
The Mayor said he expects help
from the Clarke County Economic
Development Office and the Mississippi
Development Authority in replacing the
850 jobs being lost in Stonewall.
Meanwhile, Danny Southern
thought for a moment, then said,
quietly, "I don't know what I am going
to do. And I don't know what the rest of
our people are going to do. Our jobs are
going to Mexico and Asia."
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