Area businesses have been in hiring mode recently, hoping to onboard employees either already displaced or soon to be out of work after recent announcements by Holiday Resort and Tyson Foods.
The latest: Simmons Pet Foods, which had heavy attendance for its five-hour hiring event Saturday. Simmons Vice President Brian Potter tells KVOE the hiring event was less about the Tyson situation and more about Simmons serving a community in need.
Simmons screened almost 250 potential employees after screening another 200 earlier in the week.
Potter also said people interested in working at Simmons but unavailable for Saturday’s event can go online to workatsimmons.com or stop at the local office, 1400 East Logan, during normal business hours weekdays.
Tyson Foods is ending all local operations by late February, if not sooner, as it focuses its Kansas operations on its existing plant in Holcomb. The first shutdown impacts its Funston Street lab no later than Friday. The processing plant at 2101 West Sixth is tentatively set to close in February.
Holiday Resort’s situation is more in flux after the skilled nursing facility announced on Dec. 3 plans to close by Dec. 6. The Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services appointed Mission Health as temporary manager Dec. 5, and all residents were announced as moved to other facilities by Dec. 11. The employment status of the business’ over 100 local employees has not been mentioned.
Residents wanting more information about local and area job opportunities, employment resources and quality of life options can also go online to emporiaopportunity.com.
