MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — It’s a trying time for about 500 West Virginia families in the Morgantown area.
“I would tell any worker who has been laid off, ‘Do not panic,'” WorkForce WV’s Morgantown Office Manager Bill Sochko said.
Around 400 union employees were laid off last Friday. Another 100 non-union management employees were cut from the rolls earlier this week. Laid off employees will be paid through the end of the month.
Sochko previewed what former Mylan employees can expect at a set of informational meetings beginning Thursday morning at Lakeview Golf & Resort Spa in Morgantown.
“In addition to what WorkForce will be providing, our partners will be giving information on health care coverage,” Sochko said. “Which, of course, will be essential for these laid off workers.”
The first meeting begins at 9 a.m.
“This really is a starting point for all these folks who have, unfortunately, been let go by Mylan,” Sochko said.
Meetings will be held at 11 a.m., 1 p.m., and 3 p.m. broken down by alphabetical order. However, those who can’t attend a meeting during their listed time slot are free to attend earlier or later meetings as needed.
Those who can’t attend the meetings should contact WorkForce WV.
“All they need to do is contact their local WorkForce West Virginia,” Sochko said. “We will be happy to get this information to anyone.”
The order of meetings is determined by last name in alphabetical order as follows:
- 9 A.M. (A-F)
- 11 A.M. (G-L)
- 1 P.M. (M-R)
- 3 P.M. (S-Z)
Sochko reiterated that recently laid off employees are free to attend any meeting.
“Mylan is a wonderful employer,” he said. “It is good pay. We understand that this is temporarily life changing.”
But, Sochko said, it doesn’t need to be a permanently negative change.
“Everyone who’s been laid off has a wonderful set of skills, and they’re going to be marketable to a bunch of other great employers.”
The meeting will include education and training opportunities, unemployment filing, job search assistance, and the previously mentioned healthcare coverage options.