Monaco Coach layoffs another blow to hard-hit Nappanee

by Ed Ernstes (ernstes@wsbt.com)

Tools

Monaco Coach will close its plant in Nappanee, another blow to a town recovering from a devastating tornado and currently dealing with a budget crisis. (WSBT photo)

Story Created: Jul 17, 2008 at 10:43 AM EST

Story Updated: Jul 21, 2008 at 5:54 PM EST

NAPPANEE — Monaco Coach has announced it will shut down all of its manufacturing plants in Elkhart County and move operations to Oregon. News of the layoffs is another tough blow for people in Nappanee.

Multimedia

The city is still recovering from last fall's tornado and a budget crisis from property taxes. But people there remain hopeful the community can bounce back once again.

In the small community of Nappanee, it didn't long for news of the layoffs at Monaco Coach to spread.

"It is very shocking to hear of this because I have a family member and a lot of friends that work there, and they all are going to be devastated by this,” said Nappanee resident Dorothy Alderman.

"I just don't know what they're going to do with the economy we have today, what are they going to do to survive?” wondered Jackie Sult. “So we have to help one another."

The feeling with many in the community is that the town will pull together much in the same way it did when Nappanee was hit by a tornado last fall.

"We’ve been through a lot, but we will persevere and pull through somehow, we'll overcome it,” said Nappanee resident Lisa Beachy. “We will just try to back them up and support them however we can."

“It is a shock to us and our community,” said resident Russ Miller. “I think we'll pitch together, and so I think we'll go on from here. I don't know what will go in those big plants."

Dennis Martin at Martin Hardware is already looking for ways to help workers who are losing their jobs.

“We'd like to help out, so at Martin Hardware, if you bring in a pay stub telling us you worked at Monaco, for example, I will be happy to give you a ten percent discount, as just one small way we can help out,” he said.

Nappanee Mayor Larry Thompson is in Colorado at a conference. He told WSBT News by phone dealing with the Monaco layoffs will be the first order of business when he returns.

More Good Stuff

WSBT Weather

Current Temp 48.2

More Weather

WSBT Weather

More Weather

On Demand

iPhone
Get the WSBT News and Irish Sports Report apps for your iPhone! Read more »
On DVD
Order a DVD of a WSBT news story! Read more »
Twitter
Follow us on Twitter! Read more »
Facebook
Connect with us on Facebook! Read more »
WSBT E-News
Daily StormTracker e-mails right to your Inbox! Read more »
Video On Demand
Miss a story on WSBT News? Watch it here! Read more »
CBS Shows
Watch CBS shows and news online, free! Read more »
WSBT Alert
Breaking News & Weather right to your cell phone! Read more »
Mobile
WSBT News on the go for your cell phone or PDA. Read more »
RSS Feeds
Get news and updates as soon as they're published. Read more »

Stock Quotes

YouNews

This content requires the latest Adobe Flash Player and a browser with JavaScript enabled. Click here for a free download of the latest Adobe Flash Player.