NAPPANEE — Hundreds of workers are waiting to see what the future holds following Thursday’s announcement that Monaco Coach is cutting jobs.

As we first reported, Monaco Coach is permanently closing its plants in Elkhart, Wakarusa and Nappanee. That will impact 1,400 workers.
The cuts will take place over the next 60 days, and the shutdown will be complete on September 17.

On a day with sunny skies, clouds of uncertainty and fear hung over more than 1,000 workers in Elkhart County. Those workers are already looking for help. WorkOne spent the day Friday trying to help those who are already unemployed or will soon be laid off.

According to the Recreation Vehicle Indiana Council, there have been more than 2,900 RV layoffs in Indiana so far this year.

These are tough times for the Gaspar family. Both Rebekah and her husband were recently laid off from an RV manufacturer.

"The longer you are off, the tighter it is on your budget,” Gaspar said. “Even though you get a little bit of unemployment, it's still not like when you're working."

Gaspar and many others filled a room inside the Nappanee Public Library to have WorkOne assist them in filing for unemployment and building a resume on a new state website that all employers can review.

"You don't have to be out of a job, you can be looking anytime — they should be concerned about getting a resume prepared," said Pam Goward from WorkOne.

Some in Nappanee say WorkOne coming to the area is at least one positive.

"It’s distressing, [there's] a lot of uncertainty for folks in this area. I think it's just great that we at least have something to offer them as they face those uncertainties," said Linda Yoder from Nappanee Public Library.

For Gaspar just talking about taking care of her 3 kids without work brings tears to her eyes.

"It does affect them and school is getting ready to start and all that," Gaspar said.

A spokesperson with WorkOne says she will be meeting with Monaco next week to go over unemployment benefits and severance packages for those who will be laid off come September.

To file for unemployment or to place your resume online in the state's database, click on the 'Indiana Department of Workforce Development' link in the Related Content box.