WCAX.COM Local Vermont News, Weather and Sports-Ethan Allen Layoffs Devastate Kingdom
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Beecher Falls, Vermont - June 25, 2009
It's lunch time for Danny and Sylvie Mathieu. Just a short half hour break to grab a quick piece of pizza and let the dog out. But Wednesday the Mathieus learned they will soon have more time on their hands.
"People are very depressed," Sylvie Mathieu said.
Ethan Allen announced it will shut down most of the operation at its Beecher Falls furniture plant, leaving 260 workers jobless. The husband and wife each worked at Ethan Allen for 15 years.
"I used to work in the grocery store, and went to Ethan Allen to better myself," Danny Mathieu said.
"We're all in the same boat," Sylvie Mathieu said, "living paycheck to paycheck, and the economy isn't helping anything. We're all there for the insurance."
Employees come from Vermont's Northeast Kingdom, Canada and the North Country of New Hampshire. The region already has a high unemployment rate.
"Some people are going to have to leave. They don't have a choice," said Donna Caron, the town manager of Colebrook, N.H. "We don't have jobs up here. We've lost too many in the past."
Communities worry if people will be able to keep their homes and what the long-term impact will be on property taxes and other businesses like Bessie's Diner in Canaan. Owner Cindy Hotjailexiou said, "We're not sure what we're going to do. We're going to fight to hang on. We've lowered our prices on things. But I just am not sure if it's going to work."
But for the next two months when the cuts take effect, Danny and Sylvie Mathieu and their co-workers will keep going to the plant counting down the days 'til they are victims of the recession.
"I think people are going to survive up here, though," said Danny Mathieu. "They're hard workers."
A big challenge for the Mathieus and others like them-- there is very little industry in that region.
A handful of workers will stay on at the saw mill in the Beecher Falls plant and some others will be transferred to the Orleans facility. But certainly not enough to make up for this loss.
Jack Thurston - WCAX News
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