Carolina Nurseries Faces June Closing Date
April 27, 2010 Carolina Nurseries in Moncks Corner, S.C., told its 335 workers late last week that unless it can repay a bank loan, it will likely close. The target closure date is June 21.
“We issued a WARN Act to our employees, giving them 60-day notice of possible unemployment,” President J. Guy told the Post & Courier newspaper in Charleston. “One of our lenders is requesting to be paid off. We have been actively looking for new monies.”
Though sales have gone well this spring, last year’s difficult economic climate and resulting slump in sales hurt the nursery, which is a founding partner in the Novalis group of growers.
“This is our lives. We don’t want it to happen,” Guy told the newspaper. “We are doing everything in our power for it not to happen. We have dealt with (Hurricane) Hugo and snow storms and everything else. We can deal with a banking disaster.”
According to the newspaper report, if new funding is found, some employees may be retained or recalled back to work. However, Guy says that those laid off should not count on being recalled and adds they should seek other jobs. Layoffs could come in stages before June, depending on the need to wrap up work at the nursery.
To read the full newspaper story, click here. Visit CarolinaNurseries.com for more on the operation.
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