Grim news shakes workers

With children, with spouses and with homes already nearing foreclosure, workers streaming from the Invista plant Wednesday said job cuts have come at the worst possible time, in the worst possible way.

“With no notice at all,” said plant employee Christopher Beam, 31, of Churchville, “None of us have a chance, an opportunity, to find another job ... we’re basically stuck, holiday season, no job.”

Minutes after 6 a.m. Wednesday, Beam, a single parent, drove from the plant weighted by the news that he won’t have a job after Saturday.

“It’s a huge letdown,” he said, shielding himself from a light rain. “I’ve been here for more than a year now.”

Rumors swirled in the plant for days, said other workers, but even before officials confirmed 210 job cuts later in the morning, Beam was spot-on when he estimated that more than 200 employees would lose their jobs.

Contract workers from The Mundy Companies, reached in the plant Wednesday morning, said rumors are always going around, but that everybody was continuing to work “like they’re supposed to.”

Shift by shift, groups of plant employees learned of looming layoffs, but some workers were still unsure if they’d be included in cuts.

City Councilwoman Nancy Dowdy said cuts will not be based on seniority, so everybody in the plant remains nervous.

Invista officials announced the cuts after The News Virginian broke the story online just after dawn Wednesday morning, but they declined to provide details.

One employee said supervisors had been “very quiet about everything.”

Another worker said he hopes his months of training will shield him from cuts.

Still another worried about supporting his 3-month-old child.

And Joseph Negret, of Waynesboro, said he had just returned to work after a temporary layoff, only to hear from a supervisor that he won’t be working after the weekend.

“Bad timing,” the two-year employee said. “Plus with Christmas coming.”

Negret may not have the pressure of supporting children, but he and his wife are struggling to keep their home.

“My wife is already dealing with foreclosure proceedings,” he said.

Combined with earlier Mundy layoffs, the total number of workers losing their jobs at the Invista plant will be 412, with more contract layoffs expected. The company began the year with a total of 1,100 workers.

“Everybody’s pretty much down the dumps,” Beam said.