Plans continue developing at the city and state levels for helping workers to be displaced later this year when Michelin ends part of its local operations.
A week ago, Michelin announced the upcoming end of its agriculture track manufacturing, ending around 100 jobs by New Year’s Eve.
On KVOE’s Newsmaker segment Thursday, Kansas WorkforceONE Digital Communications Coordinator Nadia Qureshi said there are plans to hold a benefit information session with representatives of the Kansas Department of Labor before another job and resource fair.
Regional Development Association of East Central Kansas Interim President Lyle Butler credited Michelin for its work to help employees adjust.
The local response for the Michelin layoffs will eventually resemble the one already in place when Hopkins Manufacturing completely shut down in late February, ending around 130 jobs in the process. However, Butler says the situations surrounding Hopkins, Michelin and Tyson — which kicked off the current wave of job losses when it announced its full local shutdown in December 2024 — have had some significant differences.
City Manager Trey Cocking has said the help Michelin is providing its employees is giving city leaders more time to put together a local response than what the Hopkins situation allowed.
Qureshi says Kansas WorkforceONE is helping with the large-scale job announcements. It also has help available for workers aside from the bigger-scale events.
Earlier this week on KVOE’s monthly Q&A with Trey Talk of Emporia, Cocking said city leaders may need to look at different employers as concerns continue nationwide about manufacturing jobs. Butler agreed Thursday.
Referencing the Michelin restructuring and the Tyson closure, Butler says there is nothing local leaders could have done to stop those announcements — and in Michelin’s case, the company delayed a decision as long as possible. The Hopkins situation, meanwhile, had the local company caught up in allegedly illegal financial dealings by the parent company’s founder and his brother. Qureshi says nothing additional is tentatively planned regarding the Hopkins situation, but Kansas WorkforceONE is prepared to help by “pooling resources” for another job fair if that’s pursued later.
