Stone County organizations working to help Hood Industries employees after mill closure
More than 250 workers are expected to lose their jobs when Hood Industries permanently closes its Wiggins plywood mill at the end of August.
Now, Stone County organizations are working to connect displaced employees with jobs and support services as longtime workers begin planning what comes next.
Allyson Cole with the Roy Howard Community Journalism Center has the story.
For 25 years, Joseph Fairley walked through the doors of Hood Industries’ plywood mill in Wiggins.
Now, after being laid off, he’s trying to imagine life without the job that helped raise his family. “It was sad because I just never thought that it would close. It’s been there so long. I didn’t see it coming. It didn’t hit me that day… but the next day it did.”
Fairley was one of about 250 employees affected after Hood Industries announced it would permanently close the mill following damage from Tropical Storm Arthur.
Another longtime employee, Lew Douglas Schuit, spent 13 years at the plant before also losing his job.
He says hearing the news was difficult. “I wasn’t necessarily expecting it. With what they had said was the cause, it’s something I knew would happen eventually. I figured it would be able to be reconciled.”
As workers prepare for the mill’s final weeks, community organizations are working to help them transition.
A rapid response team is hosting a two-day job fair to connect former employees with potential employers and community resources. MGCCC Associate Vice President of Workforce Solutions Rachael Kunz said, “We are part of the rapid response team. Rapid response starts immediately after the announcement of the closing of an industry partner… as a community college, we want to serve our community.”
The rapid response team includes Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, the Mississippi Department of Employment Security, the Mississippi Department of Human Resources, and Stone County Economic Development.
Hood Industries says employees will continue receiving pay through Sept. 5 while transition assistance and opportunities at other company facilities are discussed.
For Fairley, though, the next step isn’t finding another job right away. It’s taking time to recover after spending a quarter century at the mill. “Right now, I’m going to take some time off, just for my mental health. I’ve been working so long. I’ve raised my kids through that mill, so I’m going to take a couple of months off.”
The job fair for displaced Hood Industries employees will be August 14 and 15 at MGCCC Perkinson campus.
