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Council members discuss Thermo Fisher layoffs, plan outreach and job fair
Summary
At a Jan. 12 workshop council members reviewed a WARN notice and expected revenue losses tied to Thermo Fisher’s departure, agreed to divide outreach to major local employers using a Dun & Bradstreet list, and asked WEDAC and NC Works to help organize worker support including a possible job fair.
Council members discussed the economic fallout from Thermo Fisher’s planned departures and sketched an outreach response at a Jan. 12 workshop.
A council member said the town received a WARN notice and that Thermo Fisher appears to be leaving, warning: “We're gonna lose a $115,000 in revenue” when equipment is removed and that the building’s assessed value was roughly $21,000. The speaker added the notice had been sent to Esther Manheimer and faulted past councils for failing to maintain closer contact with large local employers.
The discussion foregrounded two immediate tasks: identifying the town's largest taxpayers and coordinating direct outreach. One council member said they circulated a Dun & Bradstreet download showing the top 12 companies with Weaverville addresses and proposed dividing the list so council members and town staff could visit employers to thank them and gather information.
“We should team up depending on what the mayor wants to do,” one council member said, urging the mayor and town manager to pair with council members for employer visits. Another suggested WEDAC (the local economic development group), Clark Duncan and Nathan Ramsey as partners to lead business-facing outreach.
Speakers also discussed effects on workers. One council member described temporary staff being let go and recounted hearing from affected family members. Council members noted business personal property inventories are filed in January and that, if equipment remains when inventories are filed, the tax impact would show next year.
To help displaced workers, council members proposed partnering with workforce agencies. A council member offered to contact NC Works (Barry Morgan) and related regional organizations (Land of Sky) to explore hosting a job fair and coordinating employer-to-employer referrals.
Speakers reviewed reuse options for large local industrial parcels — Park 108 (former SonoPress), Ballcrank and a former saw press — noting building sizes in the hundreds of thousands of square feet and the possibility of warehousing, light manufacturing or hotel development to support events and demand. One council member described the Thermo Fisher parcel as roughly 33 acres, wooded and adjacent to the river and Creekside/Deese neighborhoods, and suggested the town might be interested in parts of the land for public uses.
Council members agreed to mobilize WEDAC volunteers to research listing agents, prospective buyers and reuse options and to coordinate outreach before property transactions proceed. The group also approved, by voice vote, a short agenda adjustment to allow this open discussion before a scheduled closed session.
Next steps: council members said they would divide the D&B contact list for employer visits, staff or volunteers would reach out to NC Works about a job fair, and WEDAC volunteers would begin research into reuse and listing-agent contacts. The council then moved into a closed session to address attorney consultations and other confidential matters.
