MORGANTOWN, W.Va (WDTV) – Thousands are scrambling Friday after the surprise announcement that the Mylan Pharmaceutical plant in Morgantown would be shut down in July.
“These are families, these are 1,500 families that are going to be devastated,” said Del. Mike Caputo.
The move was a complete shock to both employees and county leadership who are scrambling to find a way to help these soon-to-be laid-off employees.
“This is going to take a few years to get back the jobs that were lost,” said John Deskins, Director of the Bureau of Business & Economic Research.
He projects that North-Central West Virginia has around 110,000 jobs, he says losing 1,500 is a major blow to the economy. With that many employees out of work, the effects will trickle into all sectors of consumerism including restaurant and housing sales in the county.
Local leaders have already began working on strategies to ease the pain this shut down will cause. Del. Caputo says he began working with the United Steel Workers Union, who represents workers at the plant, and Senator Joe Manchin to form a plan. 5 News reached out to the union, but were directed to Mylan Pharmaceuticals public relations department.
Monongalia County Commission President Tom Bloom says he has reached out to Governor Jim Justice to inquire if CARES Act money can be used to help families affected by this closure.
“We are connecting the community leaders and the business leaders. We are going to meet on Monday to discuss what possibilities we can look at,” said Bloom.
Deskins says that time is of the essence for efforts to mitigate the economic impact this closure will bring.
“A lot of these workers who are effected by the layoffs are high-skilled, high-educated workers so the surplus of workers that we have can make our area attractive to businesses, in some instances it is just the question of ‘can we get these potential businesses to seize the moment quickly enough’ before a person that has been laid off has to move out of the area to find employment elsewhere,” said Deskins.
While the closure will most directly affect the Monongalia County community, the impact will leave rippling effects across the state.
“We are the economic engine of this state, when we start to suffer so to will the other counties too,” said Bloom.
But Bloom is hopeful they will be able to create a plan forward. He likens Monongalia County to a Phoenix that will be able to rise from the ashes of this devastation.
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