The last time Donnie Smith of Columbus, Ga., was in the job market was in 1978, when he was 20.
“You could walk into any mill and get a job,” Smith said. “All you had to do was walk in.”
Many of those mills–and jobs–are gone. Soon, so will Smith and 414 other textile workers at the Beaulieu of America carpet plant, which is closing at the end of January.
The Greater Columbus Chamber of Commerce tried to help the displaced workers by conducting a job fair at the Beaulieu plant. A total of 24 Columbus area companies participated. The chamber also had a job fair at Johnston Industries, another Columbus textile mill that will be closing and eliminating 375 jobs.
Human-resource workers at the Beaulieu fair say said Smith and his co-workers have a good chance of finding jobs that will work for them.
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jwthompson@tribune.com
