Georgia Pacific’s closing this month in Talladega leaves 380 people without a job and a good corporate citizen shutting its doors on a long history of providing those jobs and giving back to the community.Officials with the company say the closing may only be temporary, but its impact is being felt throughout the area. And employees of the more than three-decade old plant mainly say they are moving on with their lives and their options to work in other areas with other companies in the interim.
While we understand the economics of the situation, it makes the entire city no less sad that Georgia Pacific is no longer a part of the industrial landscape – even if the shutdown is not permanent. Its contributions over the years have been many.
If there is a bright spot in this bleak news, though, it has been how the community has come together in support of the employees.
The Greater Talladega Area Chamber of Commerce, the Talladega County Economic Development Authority and the Talladega County Improvement Foundation have all offered a helping hand in the transition. The three entities came together to provide a job fair, successfully pairing scores of displaced workers with other employers who were hiring.
Hundreds took advantage of the fair. They also took advantage of a chance to hone their interviewing skills through a program at Central Alabama Community College Career Center.
It certainly is never good news when a plant the size and scope of G-P closes, but the opportunities emerging are signs that this community is not giving up on the future.
It is a community that is finding ways to offer a helping hand, and thanks should be offered to all who have played a role in it.
Officials with the company say the closing may only be temporary, but its impact is being felt throughout the area. And employees of the more than three-decade old plant mainly say they are moving on with their lives and their options to work in other areas with other companies in the interim.
While we understand the economics of the situation, it makes the entire city no less sad that Georgia Pacific is no longer a part of the industrial landscape – even if the shutdown is not permanent. Its contributions over the years have been many.
If there is a bright spot in this bleak news, though, it has been how the community has come together in support of the employees.
The Greater Talladega Area Chamber of Commerce, the Talladega County Economic Development Authority and the Talladega County Improvement Foundation have all offered a helping hand in the transition. The three entities came together to provide a job fair, successfully pairing scores of displaced workers with other employers who were hiring.
Hundreds took advantage of the fair. They also took advantage of a chance to hone their interviewing skills through a program at Central Alabama Community College Career Center.
It certainly is never good news when a plant the size and scope of G-P closes, but the opportunities emerging are signs that this community is not giving up on the future.
It is a community that is finding ways to offer a helping hand, and thanks should be offered to all who have played a role in it.
