January 17, 2020–7:56 a.m.
WZQZ RADIO
Around 100 employees will get pink slips next month as Mount Vernon Mills announces the shutdown of several departments at the mill in Trion.
Mount Vernon Mills President and CEO William E. Duncan issued a statement saying Mount Vernon Mills will be phasing out all of their yarn operations. The phaseout will impact the cotton receiving, card room and spinning at the mill in Trion.
Last week, Mount Vernon Mills announced the closing of their plant in Alto, Georgia. That mill, which had been in operation since 1967, produced yarn and also had a weave shop. At the time of the Alto, Georgia mill Randy Henderson, Plant Manager of Mount Vernon Mills in Trion, told WZQZ News that all operations at the Trion mill were “operating as normal.”
But yesterday, Henderson said that the ending of yarn production will mean some workers in the departments that are closing will be transferred to other jobs in the mill, but around 100 people will be losing their jobs within the next thirty days.
Mount Vernon Mills said in the statement released yesterday, “This difficult move is being made to allow us to better focus our resources and people into running the yarn preparation, weaving and related areas of the denim mill, along with the finishing plant in Trion fully and most efficiently. We will be moving to purchasing all yarn to support our remaining weave operation from third-party vendors.”
The cotton mill in Trion has been in operation since 1845 and is the largest employer in Chattooga County, employing around 1700 people.