Some jobs are coming back to a Richmond-area food-processing plant less than a year after layoffs, while a Southside Virginia city announced a business investment yesterday that is expected to create 28 jobs.
Tyson Foods Inc. confirmed yesterday that it is adding about 180 jobs for a new production line at its plant on U.S. 33 in Hanover County.
The company already has hired about 50 people for the new positions, which will be phased in over several months to produce food for fast-food and deli customers, according to Gary Mickelson, a spokesman for the company at its headquarters in Springdale, Ark.
. . .
Last spring, Tyson laid off about 190 people at the plant
"However, because of normal job attrition, most of the affected people were able to return to work at the plant within a few months," Mickelson said in a e-mail yesterday.
The plant currently employs about 625 people.
The new food-processing positions help offset job losses estimated at about 10,000 in the Richmond area in little more than a year, according to the Capital Region Workforce Partnership, a regional initiative operated within Henrico County government.
Marc S. Weiss, director of economic development in Hanover, welcomed the Tyson expansion as a victory for the Richmond region as well as the county.
"In these difficult times, it's good news that the company has made this investment in the region and expanded here in Hanover County," he said.
While Hanover officials were disappointed by the layoffs at the plant last spring, Weiss said, "we're very happy that they've been able to hire back a lot of those people."
. . .
Also yesterday, the city of Emporia announced that International Fiberglass will invest $2.21 million in the city to open a distribution and manufacturing facility for fiberglass pools.
International Fiberglass is buying a 40,000-square-foot building and 10-acre site in the Emporia Industrial Park and initially will employ three to five people, with plans to expand to 28 employees during the next three years as production increases.
The Virginia Tobacco Commission provided a $60,000 grant to Emporia for site work and improvements to the building.
The money comes from Virginia's share of the 1998 national tobacco settlement.
Staff writers Michael Martz and John Reid Blackwell contributed to this report.
Email
Facebook
Google
Twitter
Favorites
More
Advertisement