By Natalie Anderson
natalie.anderson@salisburypost.com

SALISBURY — As a result of the COVID-19 impact, the Parkdale Mills plant in Salisbury closed on April 20, according to a WARN notice filed with the state.

A WARN notice, which stands for a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification, is required to be filed when a company announces plans to either close a facility or conduct a mass personnel layoff. In the notice, Karen Menting, the vice president of human resources, said the closure was “a result of the unforseeable, dramatic downturn in business caused by COVID-19.”

Menting said all employees would be impacted and the closure is expected to be permanent.

The Parkdale Mills plant in Salisbury, labelled Plant 11, is a textile mill making yarn, fiber and thread. It is located at 2701 S. Main St. Its closure followed the shuttering of one in Landis. In February, the Landis mill said it would lay off more than 90 people in April due to “changing business conditions.”

Following the announcement in February to close the Landis plant, Menting said Parkdale Mills would be working with the local Employment Security Commission to provide assistance in hiring in other locations. Rowan Economic Development Commission president and CEO Rod Crider said all the resources that were available to laid-off Landis employees are available for the laid-off Salisbury employees as well.

Crider said the commission has reached out to inform Parkdale Mills of the recently launched Connect Rowan online tool, which links displaced workers with local employers still hiring. Some companies still hiring despite the pandemic, including Chewy’s distribution center, Harris Teeter, Snow Joe, Food Lion, Walmart, Imperial Supplies, Aldi, McKenzie and Distinctive Naturescapes. More information on job postings can be found at visitsalisburync.com/plan/hospitality-workers-business-resources/.

“We’re trying to get those 110 people back on the payroll here,” Crider said, adding that the loss of the company is “disheartening” for the county.

He added that the commission will stay in contact with the company to potentially use the Landis and Salisbury buildings to house future businesses.

COVID-19 also caused major employer Gildan Yards in late March to suspend operations, which has affected more than 700 people. The suspension was due to a decline in demand in the “imprintables channel” given measures that governments, companies and individuals took to limit the spread of COVID-19.

Contact reporter Natalie Anderson at 704-797-4246.