Mayor Gary Fuller has been working on a plan. A plan to secure employment for BFGoodrich employees who will be out of a job by the end of October, and a plan to make vacant industrial space in Opelika productive again.
During the Opelika City Council work session Tuesday, Fuller discussed his efforts during the past week to secure a better future for the BFGoodrich plant’s employees, which included speaking to Gov. Bob Riley.
“Our primary concern has been those 1,000 employees of that plant,” Fuller told the city council members, noting that approximately 66 percent of BFGoodrich employees live in Lee County.
The plant closing will create more than a loss of jobs, Fuller said. In 2008, the company paid more than $850,000 in city occupational license fees, he said. In addition, the loss of jobs at the plant is expected to have an impact on sales revenue, he said.
Fuller said he will be in contact with a number of organizations and state agencies, including the state two-year college system and the Alabama Development Office for the marketing and recruiting of new industries, to create a plan to help the plant employees find “new good paying jobs.”
He said he will meet with United Steel Workers Local 753 President William Hart today to discuss specifics about the BFGoodrich employees such a list of their skill sets.
In addition, Fuller told city council members he will be calling on the council to sign a contract with NKF Consulting to conduct a preliminary assessment of the city’s strengths and weaknesses in terms of potential employees and new uses for vacant industrial buildings such as the former WestPoint Stevens and the Diversified Products facilities.
bharvey@oanow.com | 737-2546
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