Slim Jim plant's demise to put 450 out of work * Article * Comments (17) Recommend (0)
2009 NEWS & OBSERVER FILE PHOTO - CHRIS SEWARD Shortly after the June 9 explosion, officials from various agencies were swarming the wreckage to help with the rescue, then the recovery, then the investigations, which led to recommendations for new safety laws. Email Print Order Reprint Share: Yahoo! Buzz Text tool name close x tool goes here BY SARAH NAGEM AND ALAN M. WOLF - Staff Writers
GARNER -- ConAgra Foods plans to close its Garner Slim Jim factory by next year, laying off hundreds and dealing another blow to the region's economy.
The decision announced Wednesday means that the world's supply of Slim Jims, which came from a factory on Jones Sausage Road for more than 40 years, will no longer be locally made.
An explosion caused by a natural gas leak damaged the factory last summer, killing four workers and injuring dozens more. Since then, ConAgra has been considering whether to pump more money into further repairs or move production of the meat snacks.
Company officials told workers Wednesday afternoon that it will shift production to another ConAgra facility in Troy, Ohio, to reduce costs. Lawmakers there this week approved allowing ConAgra to skip paying property taxes for 15 years, a deal that could save the company as much as $3 million, according to Ohio media reports. In addition, unlike the Garner workers, the Ohio plant's employees are not unionized.
The Garner factory supported several generations in this mostly blue-collar town. While some employees said ConAgra's decision wasn't a shock, others expressed more bitterness.
"It was just a slap in the face," said Sean Fussell, 38, of Raleigh, who has worked at ConAgra for 18 years.
Fussell was in the plant June 9 when the explosion crumbled walls and sent debris flying. He couldn't work for five months after he suffered broken ribs and a knee injury.
Workers did everything they could to get the plant running as soon as possible, said Fussell, whose wife, Zona, has worked at the plant for 17 years.
"We all pitched in even when we were hurting," he said.
News of the plant's closure was a defeat for Garner and state officials who negotiated with ConAgra on a financial incentives package aimed at keeping the plant open. ConAgra is one of the world's largest food companies, with brands such as Chef Boyardee, Orville Redenbacher, Healthy Choice and more.
Dale Carroll, deputy secretary with the N.C. Department of Commerce, declined to comment on the size of the incentives offer. The total would have depended on the number of jobs, and the amount of ConAgra's investment, he added.
"In the end, there wasn't anything else we could do in the way of support" that would have persuaded the company to keep the Garner plant running, said Carroll, who was part of a group of officials that flew to ConAgra's headquarters in Omaha, Neb., last month to lobby for the Garner factory.
The company had wanted to stay in Garner, said Greg Smith, executive vice president of supply chain for ConAgra. But he said it's cheaper for the company to make Slim Jims at its Ohio plant, which is bigger and more modern.
"It was a very difficult decision, but it was a necessary decision," Smith said.
