Virginia Supports Laid-Off Boar’s Head Workers: ‘This Community Will Survive’

GREENSVILLE COUNTY, Va. — It’s unusually busy at Virginia Career Works’ Emporia Center.

Dozens of the 600 workers at the closed Boar’s Head plant in Jarratt, Virginia, have arrived to discuss what happens next.

Boar’s Head announced last Friday that the Jarratt plant would close indefinitely after repeated safety concerns eventually led to a nationwide listeria outbreak linked to the plant. Nine people have died and more than 50 have been hospitalized, health officials said.

The factory was one of the largest employers in the region.

Tabitha Taylor, Crater Region Director, said it was the largest layoff she can remember in the Crater region since Rolls-Royce closed its jet engine component manufacturing center in Prince George County, losing more than 100 workers.

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“It’s devastating,” Taylor said of the layoffs at Boar’s Head. “It definitely complicates their daily lives and changes their norm.”

“Boar’s Head had brought people in to do some training with them, so I think there was some hope that, hey, we can make some positive changes here and move on,” she continued. “Unfortunately, they’re now in a situation where they have to completely rethink how they’re going to make a living.”

Boar’s Head has given the laid-off workers at least eight weeks of severance pay, increasing with each year of service, and they have access to short-term insurance, county officials said.

Taylor said all affected workers are eligible for unemployment benefits until they find new employment. In addition, in-person, online and telephone resources are available through their two Virginia Career Works centers in the region.

Find these resources here

“Some people will get a job next week, and they won’t have to claim a lot of those benefits. But for some people, it may take a while, and they may want to take their time,” Taylor said.

A major concern for the region is that laid-off workers will choose to work elsewhere.

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According to Taylor and other sources, several businesses in Greensville and Southside have contacted the laid-off Boar’s Head workers.

“We have open positions and we want to help them get back to work,” Taylor said of the companies. “Just because an organization goes bankrupt or a factory closes doesn’t mean there aren’t opportunities here for a sustainable livelihood.”

In the coming weeks, two major job fairs will take place in the region:

• Crater Regional Job Fair: Friday, October 4 — 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. — Richard Bland College Academic Innovations Center (11301 Johnson Road,
  South Prince George, VA)
• Southside Region Career Fair: Tuesday, October 8 — 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM — Golden Leaf Commons (1300 Greensville County Circle, Emporia, VA)

Employers interested in participating in these job fairs can register here.

Many of the Boar’s Head employees haven’t created resumes or looked for jobs in years, so their interviewing and writing skills could use some improvement. Those resources are available through Taylor’s team.

Virginia Career Works can also connect employees looking to change industries with access to scholarships, job-specific training and certifications, and aptitude assessments.

“We also offer a number of career clusters or sectors where you, given your skills, talents and interests, will thrive,” says Taylor.

The full economic impact of the closure on the region is not yet known, said Dr. Charlette Woolridge, Greensville County Administrator.

“Boar’s Head has been a fixture in Greensville County for over three decades and its closure has sent shock waves, not only in Greensville but throughout the Southside Virginia region,” said Dr. Woolridge. “It’s impacted our local economy, it’s impacted our local businesses because you don’t have the consumer spending that we once had.”

From the county’s perspective, the plant was the largest user of the county’s water and wastewater system. If the plant were to disappear, the county would lose nearly $1 million in tax revenue from that source each year.

Woolridge said the focus remains on helping the families who have been impacted in the short term. In the long term, she is confident that Greensville County and Southside will find new economic development engines.

“Greensville County residents are resilient. This community will recover; this community will survive,” she said.

There are two centers in the Virginia Career Works Crater region where employees can get help:

• Emporia Center: 1300 Greensville County Circle, Room 105, Emporia, VA 23847 — (434) 634-2326
• Prince George Center: 4300 Crossings Boulevard, Prince George, 23875 — (804) 862-6155
• Email address: [email protected]

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