Cone Denim is holding a job fair this week to help connect their employees with other area manufacturers. The aim is to help them reenter the workforce after the company's Greensboro plant closes later this year.
The roughly 200 workers at the White Oak Mill are for the most part experts in the manufacturing processes they've honed over decades. On Wednesday, they'll be greeted by more than 20 companies that have confirmed their participation in the job fair.
Cone Denim spokeswoman Delores Sides says they include manufacturers as well as businesses in the service and textile industries.
“We tremendously appreciate the effort that our employees have put forth to get ready to talk to new employers,” says Sides. “Also, [we appreciate] the area companies and the support of the community to our employees.”
Sides says her company's staff remain competitive in today's market.
“Our employees at White Oak have a tremendous work ethic,” she says. “And they have been dedicated to their jobs for many years, which transfers to virtually any job. With training, their technical and their process knowledge could be a big benefit to other companies whether they are within the textile industry or in another type of industry.”
The historic Cone Denim White Oak plant was once the world's largest denim manufacturer with 2,500 employees. But it will be closing at the end of the month after more than a century of operation in Greensboro. Sides calls the decision difficult, but necessary due to changes in today's market demand that have significantly lowered the order volume for the facility.
“What we have seen is a change in sourcing strategies by some of our customers that are sourcing outside of the U.S.,” says Sides. “Unfortunately, despite the tremendous efforts on the part of all employees to manage through those changes, the plant's large size provides much more capacity than is currently needed. This was resulting in a higher manufacturing cost that can't be supported in a sustainable business going forward.”
The job fair will be held by the denim maker at Revolution Mill on Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.