CONOVER, N.C. — Hundreds of people are losing their jobs just before the new year after Kroehler Furniture told workers it is shutting down its Conover plant, a decision many say blindsided them.
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Employees said they got a notice Monday about the layoffs.
The Kroehler name has been in the furniture industry since the late 1800s, but that may come to an end Wednesday as 300 workers learned they are now out of a job.
Workers said the plant in Conover, which has been there for four decades, makes furniture for Value City Furniture stores. But its owner, American Signature, announced last month it had filed for Chapter 11 protection in U.S. Bankruptcy Court. Kroehler Furniture said under the Warn Act, employers are supposed to provide workers with 60-day notice of a mass layoffs. The company said it didn’t do that as it searched for new capital and business to avoid a shutdown.
Channel 9’s Dave Faherty reached out to the North Carolina Department of Commerce about this and is waiting to hear back.
At 5:30 p.m., Faherty will speak with an employee who has worked for Kroehler for 60 years.
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