LEITCHFIELD, Ky. — A bombshell was dropped on the Leitchfield community when MTD Products announced they will be closing their manufacturing facility. Now, nearly 300 employees have eight months to find another job.
“There’s some options here in Leitchfield. There’s not a whole lot. MTD brought a lot of business here. It was a really good job, but it’s going to be tough to find work within an eight-month period,” said Todd Decker, whose wife works for MTD.
According to MTD Products, the decision to close the facility is to “improve overall efficiency.” The plan is to close the facility by June 2020.
“We recognize the significant impact this closure will have on employees and their families and will be providing separation support including severance benefits, outplacement services and preferential hiring opportunities at MTD’s other U.S. facilities,” MTD Senior Vice President of Human Resources Craig Dukes said in a press release.
“It may be a situation where people have to look at maybe different options, moving to different states, who knows, but it’s definitely a blow for this community,” said Decker.
For the small town of Leitchfield, home to 7,000 residents, a job at MTD can be a family tradition. In fact, Decker and his father are former employees of the company.
Many in the town are wondering where to go from here.
“A lot of them are married. A lot of them are family oriented,” said Decker. “And a lot of the families here are going to lose everything as far as income base goes.”
The company is offering severance benefits, outplacement services and potential jobs at other locations within the company.
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