Job resource fair to help terminated United Furniture employees from Victorville
The San Bernardino County Workforce Development Board will host a job resource fair for those terminated from the United Furniture Industries plant at the Southern California Logistics Airport in Victorville.
The Rapid Response event for former UPI employees will take place from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. on Dec. 8 at the High Desert Training Center, 13313 Sabre Boulevard Suite 2 in Victorville.
A job fair for the public will follow from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the training center.
“We hope this event will help not only those impacted by recent events but anyone looking for new career opportunities,” First District SBC 1st District Supervisor Paul Cook said.
Resources for former UFI workers will include individualized job search and résumé assistance, information on veterans services, skills certifications, on-the-job training, and financial aid for training.
The WDB will also provide information on unemployment insurance benefits, the county’s three America’s Job Centers of California, COBRA, 401(k) options, the Affordable Care Act, and child support assistance.
The job and resource fair is a Title 1-financially assisted and equal opportunity employer program. Auxiliary aids and services are available upon request to individuals with disabilities. For federal funding disclosure information, visit wp.sbcounty.gov/workforce/ffd/.
Unified Furniture
Two days before Thanksgiving, UFI executives terminated “all its employees,” including those working at the plant at SCLA in Victorville, which opened in 2011.
Employees received a message by text or email from UFI instructing them not to report to work the following Tuesday because their jobs were being immediately terminated “due to unforeseen business circumstances.”
“At the instruction of the board of directors of United Furniture Industries Inc. and all subsidiaries, we regret to inform you that due to unforeseen business circumstances, the company has been forced to make the difficult decision to terminate the employment of all its employees, effective immediately, on Nov. 21, 2022,” the message said.
A second email told employees that “your layoff from the company is expected to be permanent and all benefits will be terminated immediately without provision of COBRA.”
The company closed out its message by citing the “difficult and unexpected situation” that economic experts say likely includes high gas prices, inflation, and the war in Ukraine as key factors.
It’s unclear how many UFI employees were affected by the furniture manufacturer’s decision to terminate its remaining workforce.
In 2020, UFI employed more than 300 full-time workers at the facility, which serves as the company’s West Coast base of operations.
Headquartered in Okolona, Mississippi, UFI makes promotional to mid-priced upholstered furniture in the U.S. under its brand and the Lane Home Furnishings brand, which it acquired in November 2017 from Heritage Home Group. The manufacturer also imports wooden bedroom and dining furniture.
Daily Press reporter Rene Ray De La Cruz may be reached at 760-951-6227 or RDeLaCruz@VVVDailyPress.com. Follow him on Twitter @DP_ReneDeLaCruz.
This article originally appeared on Victorville Daily Press: Job fair to help terminated United Furniture workers from Victorville
