Six months after Tyson Foods and Holiday Resort announced their closures in Emporia on back-to-back days, Mayor Erren Harter says the city fared a lot better than it could have when jobs and potential ex-migration is concerned.
Numbers aren’t being released, but Harter says all the Holiday Resort staff have found jobs and most are staying in or close to Emporia. Harter also says nearly all the 200-plus Tyson employees offered jobs at the Holcomb plant decided against that option and are staying put. He credits the work of the city’s Rapid Response Team in several ways, including two jobs fairs but extending beyond that.
Given the potential for losing over 1,000 workers and family members, especially with the Tyson closure, Harter says the Rapid Response Team’s work reflects well on the city of Emporia as a whole.
Numbers and percentages of people who stayed in Emporia while accepting unemployment benefits have not been announced.
Tyson lengthened its closure period as the year to date has progressed, initially announcing plans to be completely wrapped up by Valentine’s Day but later stretching that out to early June. Holiday Resort, however, shut down soon after announcing its plans. Several other retail business closures followed in short order, including Buckle and Bling. The furnace component manufacturer Thermal Ceramics also announced its upcoming closure in mid-January.
Economic losses to the magnitude of Tyson, which at one point had well over 1,000 employees locally before restructuring and trimming its employment number to around 800 over a decade ago, usually lead for calls to diversify a city’s economy, and that was no different in Emporia. Harter says the city has been focused on specific business sectors, and changes to the Regional Development Association of East Central Kansas board structure will help the city target a wider range of businesses.
