Mohawk plant at Talladega to close, laying off 125 workers

<p>Mohawk Industries Inc. will close its Talladega yarn manufacturing plant on Jan. 30, leaving 125 employees looking for a job in a shutdown that comes despite record earnings by the carpet company.</p><p>A news release Tuesday by the Calhoun, Ga.-based company said Mohawk will move its Talladega equipment and operations to other plants in the Southeast.</p><p>Capitalizing on available space at other facilities affords the company the opportunity to further strengthen their competitiveness, the release said.</p><p>The closing comes in the wake of an Oct. 16 news release in which Mohawk Industries announced the highest quarterly net earnings in its history at $91,382,000, which was 12 percent above last year. The company also reported record earnings in the previous two quarters.</p><p>Jerry Hendrix, human resources director of Mohawks Yarn Division, said the closing is no reflection on the performance and commitment of the Talladega plant workers. He said some of the 125 employees may be able to relocate to operations in other states and that Alabamas Rapid Response Team will be assisting them with vocational education opportunities and job placement.</p><p>Heidi Edwards, executive director of the Greater Talladega Area Chamber of Commerce, said she would be working with Mohawk, local agencies and businesses to find employment in Talladega for the displaced mill workers.</p><p>We would love to keep those employees here in Talladega, she said. One hundred and twenty-five employees _ thats a lot of people to relocate in this area, she said.</p><p>Joyce Morris of Munford, who has worked at the plant for 27 years, said the closing was not a surprise to her.</p><p>We were the smallest company that Mohawk took on and if anything like this was going to happen it was going to be Talladega, she said.</p>

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