Hint of hope on the horizon for Monaco Coach workersby Dustin Grove (grove@wsbt.com)
State officials are trying to help the 1,400 Monaco Coach workers who will be laid off in September. (WSBT photo) ELKHART — State officials met with executives at Monaco Coach on Monday to develop a plan to help the 1,400 employees who will soon be laid off. Multimedia Related Content
Monaco announced last week it will close down its plants in Wakarusa, Nappanee and Elkhart in the next 60 days. The state will soon be back at Monaco to help workers with resumes and to find a new job. The question is, where? “Some of these people, it’s the only place they've ever worked,” said Karen Hunt from Wakarusa. “It’s just hard.” Karen Hunt's husband is one of the 1,400 Monaco Coach workers who will be looking for work in two months. “He just wants to find work,” said Hunt. “I mean something with health benefits because we have three kids and we need health insurance.” Already this year, there have been 2,900 RV job layoffs in Indiana. Suppliers are concerned about the ripple effect and so are other businesses like the restaurant where Karen works. Monaco employees are their lunch crowd. “They're a big part of our business,” Hunt said. So while businesses brace for Monaco’s aftermath, everyone is wondering, just what do you do with 1,400 people laid off in a community? The state and the chamber of commerce said they're working on it. Elkhart County’s Chamber of Commerce said despite the gloom, there could be a glimmer of opportunity. “When a company is considering moving to an area one of the things they always look for is available workforce,” said Kyle Hannon from the Chamber of Commerce. “Well, through tragedy, basically we have 1,400 highly skilled people that are available. I think that will in some ways make our community more attractive.” Last week, Gov. Mitch Daniels hinted at just that. “We have dozens of live opportunities on the hook for the Indiana economy and I know of at least one big one in the Elkhart area I hope we can land,” he said. Hannon was questioned if he is aware of the governor’s plans. “Oh I hear stories but we'll see,” Hannon said. “I’ll leave that up to the governor to announce.” Those Monaco workers will join a growing number of unemployed people in Elkhart County. Last month, 7,000 people were out of work there, up from 6,000 the month before. Most PopularMore Good Stuff |
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