MILLEDGEVILLE, Ga. — A Milledgeville flooring plant will shut down this fall.
"It was a growing business, and to take that out of Milledgeville is going to hurt some people," says Don Merritt.
Merritt works down the road from Mohawk Flooring Company.
When the plant said they were closing down, he thought about the 200 workers losing their job.
"I know if you have families and different things going on, you know the hurt for money is real," says Merritt.
The company calls itself the "world's largest flooring company," making rugs, tiles, vinyl floors, and more.
Last month, Mohawk reported that North America flooring sales were down in the first half of the year.
They said they were cutting costs by streamlining and combining facilities.
"I was shocked. They have struggled, and I know they have struggled in the past," says President and CEO of Milledgeville-Baldwin County Chamber of Commerce, Angie Martin.
Martin says the plant has been a big part of Milledgeville and its workforce.
She says now they have to work to attract more businesses.
"We've done it before, we've gone through some tough times with the closings of the prisons in Central State, and we've remained a viable community in Middle Georgia and we are going to continue to do that," says Martin.
Martin says with vacant buildings around town, they plan to keep searching for a new workforce.
"It's a struggle, and you're seeing it all across rural Georgia and other rural areas across the United States. We'll just try to keep on doing good and doing what we can," says Martin.
Mohawk says they will work with the state Department of Labor to help their workers find new jobs.
The yarn plant will close down in late October.
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