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Local development office says planned plant closure averted after regional effort
Summary
Bryce of One Collaborative told the commissioners a February WARN notice threatened more than 400 local jobs at a manufacturing facility; regional partners and a purchaser ultimately kept the facility operating, and local officials credited coordinated intervention.
Bryce, representing One Collaborative, updated the Seneca County Board of Commissioners on efforts to respond to a WARN notice filed in February that put a major local facility at risk of closure.
Bryce said the affected site represented one of the county’s largest employers, with more than 400 employees at the facility as of the WARN filing. He described a rapid, confidential effort involving regional partners, Jobs Ohio, the regional growth partnership, local economic development offices and the facility’s plant manager to find a purchaser and avoid permanent closure.
"People are crying — they're cheering — because they realized that was the last hurdle to pass for the purchase," Bryce said, describing an emotional scene when the sale cleared final steps. He credited frequent communication among local officials and regional partners with preventing the loss of hundreds of jobs.
Bryce said the county office organized a job fair and coordinated daily updates to regional partners and elected officials while multiple purchaser prospects were evaluated. He said one purchaser — a company from Michigan with a name given in the meeting record as the buyer — will operate the facility without changing existing union arrangements, according to the local discussions.
Commissioners thanked the collaborative and its regional partners for the work, noting broad engagement from federal, state and regional elected officials during the process. The board did not take additional formal action after the update; the remarks were informational.
Because some aspects of the sale process were confidential, Bryce and staff limited details in public remarks and emphasized coordination and outreach to impacted families and workers.
