Employees at a Shearer’s Foods plant in Hermiston, Ore., that was severely damaged by fire on Feb. 22 are now scared they will lose their jobs permanently.
A meeting with company representatives two days later did little to assuage that fear. Shearer’s officials are not yet ready to commit to rebuilding the plant in north-central Oregon. “Over the next week, we will be able to fully evaluate the damage and make decisions as to the short- and long-term viability of the Hermiston facility,” the company said in a statement quoted by KGW-TV.
Shearer’s offered workers a minimum of five weeks’ pay and COBRA health benefits, which is similar to what many employees get when they are laid off. Several told KGW-TV that they believe they will soon be unemployed. The plant employs one out of every 30 people in Hermiston.
"They're throwing us out there in the cold," one employee said. "They don't want to help us. They want to throw us out there and get rid of us."
The fire is believed to have started with a portable gas boiler. Six persons were sent to the hospital with injuries, but were treated and released.
