Sumter, S.C., meatpacker Harvin Choice Meats has shut down abruptly, citing inflation and a vendor issue, according to a local news report. Approximately 50 employees have lost their jobs as a result of the closure on Apr. 8, and owner Scott Harvin accepted responsibility for the failure in an interview with a local TV news outlet.
Harvin told the outlet that the high cost of goods and billing issues with a vendor led to the ultimate decision to close the business. In addition, the third-party payroll company that Harvin used to pay his employees will be withdrawing the last paycheck employees received on April 2, because Harvin did not have the funds in his account to pay them.
Harvin vowed to make things right, but the company was also bound by state laws requiring that employees receive pay for their work, the South Carolina Dept. of Labor, Licensing and Regulation said in the news report.
