Kentucky candle factory destroyed by tornado to lay off workers

Jan. 16 (UPI) -- The Kentucky candle factory that was destroyed by a tornado in December will potentially lay off hundreds of workers who can't be moved to a nearby plant.

Mayfield Consumer Products revealed in a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification filed on Monday that the company plans "to accelerate the opening of its planned facility at Hickory Point" in Hickory, about 10 miles away, transferring about half of its 501 employees to the new plant.

About 250 employees are expected to be laid off, with the rest being transferred to the Hickory facility, according to a list of affected positions provided with the notice. The layoffs are expected to be permanent.

Nine candle factory workers died after a series of tornados blew through the region on Dec. 10, with the deadly storms killing at least 89 people in Kentucky and surrounding states. There were more than 100 people working at the factory at the time of the disaster.

Read more: https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2022/01/16/kentucky-candle-factory-mayfield-to-lay-off-hundreds-workers-after-tornado-kills-nine/5941642345011/