A handful of workers at Dow Chemical’s South Charleston plant are getting laid off.
Affected workers were notified Wednesday of the layoffs which are part of a larger plan by Dow to cut about 2,400 jobs and close 20 plants nationwide.
South Charleston Mayor Frank Mullens said it’s important for people to know the details of this layoff.
“They are not closing down a plant,” said Mullens. “They are closing down a unit within a plant.”
The layoffs affect only the gum base unit in South Charleston.
“Anytime you lose one job it’s unfortunate, but it looks like this is going to have a small affect on what’s going on with the operations in South Charleston,” said Mullens.
Despite the layoffs, Mullens said there is some good news.
“Dow continues to make an investment into the plant,” said Mullens. “I think over a four or five year period it was a several million dollar investment into the infrastructure, which is always good news.”
Mullens is also positive about the future for the plant since Dow has reassured him they have no plans to shut the plant down.
“They reassure me that this is not a trend that is going to happen in South Charleston,” said Mullens. “They are still committed to this area.”
The company, at this time, has not released the exact number of employees that are going to be laid off.