A paper mill, trucking firm, and furniture: A look at NC’s 5 biggest 2023 layoffs
Alongside the job creation news in North Carolina this year were several high-profile layoffs. Federal law requires companies file WARN reports ahead of conducting mass job cuts or facility closures, and in 2023, employer WARN notices affected nearly 9,000 positions statewide.
The North Carolina Department of Commerce then deploys a rapid response team to help those impacted with the often-difficult transition.
Some of the layoffs during the past 12 months were small, impacting only a handful of workers. Others were filed by well-known companies, like the Cary-based video game developer Epic Games.
Here are the five largest layoff announcements in North Carolina this year, according to state WARN database.
Pactiv Evergreen — 1,050 positions
On March 6, Pactiv Evergreen announced it would shut down the paper mill that had been in the small western North Carolina town of Canton since 1908. It was the largest employer in Haywood County, about 20 miles west of Asheville.
The news was greeted with sorrow in the community of around 4,500. “The mill closure, and the actions to close the mill, have sacrificed our soul,” Canton Mayor Zeb Smathers told reporters days after the announcement.
North Carolina received a $7.5 million federal grant to help affected workers prepare for new employment.
“This grant will give these workers the resources they need to chart their own path and their future,” Smathers said in a statement. “These people and their families deserve respect, and every opportunity to pursue their dreams after this nightmare closing of Pactiv Evergreen, which has damaged not only our economy but our soul.”
The latest North Carolina state budget also included $38 million for Canton to construct a new wastewater treatment plant as well as $3 million for Haywood County Schools.
Yellow Corporation — 885 positions
This summer, the nearly 100-year-old trucking firm Yellow Corporation shut down, impacting 30,000 workers companywide. The cuts included more than 800 employees across North Carolina, with the highest concentration of layoffs occurring in Charlotte. Yellow, which was headquartered in Nashville, also cut 55 positions in Raleigh and 24 in Durham.
Klaussner Furniture — 884 positions
Based in the Piedmont city of Asheboro, Klaussner Furniture Industries shuttered operations this summer at seven North Carolina facilities, impacting close to 900 jobs.
“This outcome was not reasonably foreseeable, but due to these unexpected circumstances, Klaussner can no longer sustain its operations,” the company said in a statement to Spectrum News 1. “As a result, Klaussner has made the difficult decision to permanently cease operations and is providing as much notice as possible.”
Klaussner said the decision came after a dispute with its lender.
Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams — 533 positions
On Aug. 26, more than 500 employees at another furniture company learned they had lost their jobs.
“It was just out of nowhere,” said Darius Spratt, who worked for Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams for seven years. “Before you know it, it was on Facebook saying Mitchell Gold shut down, you are not to enter the property.”
The three MG+BW facilities were in Hiddenite, Statesville, and Taylorsville.
In 2015, MG+BW had been acquired by The Stephens Group, a private-equity firm based in Arkansas. This year, both MG+BW and The Stephens Group filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
Ardagh Glass — 337 positions
Ardagh Glass closed its glass production facility in Wilson this summer, impacting more than 330 positions. Ardagh also closed a facility in Louisiana this year.
The company receives recycled glass from the North Carolina Triangle area, but the closure is not expected to impact Triangle-area glass recycling.
The plant had been in Wilson for more than 40 years.
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