DECATUR, Ill. (WAND) — Employees at Akorn Pharmaceuticals in Decatur were laid off with no warning on Wednesday.
In a leaked video of the virtual conference call to employees, the company announced that all employees on the call would be laid off effective immediately.
State and local officials have weighed in on the mass layoff.
Congresswoman Nikki Budzinski released the following:
“I’m outraged by the surprise announcement that Akorn Pharmaceuticals is closing their plant in Decatur and shutting down all U.S. operations.
“I came to Congress to stand up for working people throughout our communities, and that’s exactly what I intend to do for the folks left with no job, no severance, only days left with health care coverage and no time to prepare for next steps.
“I’ve been in contact with Decatur Mayor Julie Moore Wolfe to offer assistance – and my team and I are standing by to help in any way we can. My team has also been in touch with the State's Rapid Response Team for the Central Workforce Development Region, as well as the Macon-Dewitt Workforce Investment Board. I encourage those impacted to attend the workNet outreach workshops tomorrow in Decatur to connect with the resources available to them.”
Related Links
- Leaked Akorn video confirms company closure and mass layoffs
- Millikin University opening up Spring 2023 Career Fair to recently laid off Akorn employees
- Local employers offer opportunities for laid off Akorn workers
Decatur Mayor Julie Moore Wolfe said the following regarding the surprise layoffs:
"This is a pretty big hit to our community, on the upside we have a lot of available jobs. Now, I've got to tell you, this couldn't have been handled more poorly. We have so many resources that are available to help had we only been given that opportunity.
"So, I mean, I'm in contact right now with the state of Illinois, Workforce Development, United Way, with basically rally our partners and rallying our resources to say what can we do. It would have been helpful if they would have filed a notice with the State, which is a WARN notice if you have 75 or more full-time employees. That is something you are supposed to do. Akorn didn't do it. I'm not faulting local management, I don't think they had a clue, but it is. This is not the way you do this. It's wrong."
WAND is working to learn more about the situation and will update this story as more becomes available.
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