LG holds inhouse job fair for employees displaced by solar panel closure

In February, LG Electronics announced they would be closing their Huntsville solar panel manufacturing plant in June. The move will displace about 160 employees and about 60 contract workers at LG’s corporate campus in Huntsville when it shuts down next month.

Speaking on behalf of his counterparts with LG, Huntsville/Madison County Chamber of Commerce president Chip Cherry said in a news conference about the closure that displaced LG employees would be offered an opportunity to transfer to other departments within LG, and he committed the Chamber to working with partners to offer jobs to those who chose not to transfer within the company.

LG and the Chamber took steps to fulfill that commitment to workers earlier this week when LG hosted a two-day job fair specifically for those Huntsville employees who will be impacted by the closure of the plant next month.

LG workers met with recruiters from a network of local companies and community partners interested in hiring them including YKTA, Mazda Toyota Manufacturing, Futaba, TBAKI, Buffalo Rock, EOS, Hyosung USA, Asahi Kasei Plastics North America, Marelli, and Randstad USA.

“The good news for us and them is that we have a very robust advanced manufacturing market here in North Alabama, and we already have employers reaching out to us interested in an opportunity to talk to these employees,” Cherry said. “These employees already work in a manufacturing environment, so they understand the assembly process and there is a ready job market for these men and women. We feel confident they will land on their feet and be welcomed by many of our local companies.”

There was even a representative from LG’s state-of-the-art laundry factory in Clarksville, Tenn., in attendance as well to talk to employees interested in relocating to Clarksville.

LG remains committed to a long-time presence and investment in Huntsville, and their integrity and support for their employees have been lauded by the business community and the Chamber of Commerce.