Royalty Carpet shuts its doors
140 laid off at local plant
Royalty Carpet Mills Wednesday abruptly closed all of its plants with no intention of reopening any of them, including the mill which has operated in Porterville for more than 31 years.
A person who answered the phone at the local plant said it employed 140 people.
According to a caller who did not want his named used, his father was among the 140 who had three hours Wednesday to clear out of the plant. He said workers had no advance warning, which is in violation of federal law.
According to the United States Department of Labor, “The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN) protects workers, their families, and communities by requiring employers with 100 or more employees (generally not counting those who have worked less than six months in the last 12 months and those who work an average of less than 20 hours a week) to
provide at least 60 calendar days advance written notice of a plant closing and mass layoff affecting 50 or more employees at a single site of employment.”
The law does have certain exceptions to the requirements when layoffs occur due to unforeseeable business circumstances, faltering companies and natural disasters.
Advance notice is to give workers and their families some transition time to adjust to the prospective loss of employment, to seek and obtain other jobs, and if necessary, to enter skill training or retraining that will allow these workers to compete successfully in the job market, notes the Labor Department.
Royalty, which is headquartered in Irvine, gave no indication it might be closing or a reason for the closing.
A call to the corporate office only had a recording which said:
“Effective immediately, Royalty Carpet Mills, Camelot Carpet Mills, Moda LLC and Pacificrest Mills are closed and will not reopen. Thank you for your business and friendship over the years. We wish you and your family health and prosperity in the years to come.”
The person at the local plant said the announcement was a “shock” to everyone. The son of the worker said his father had worked there 28 years.
The father did tell his son it seemed the plant had slowed down the past couple of weeks and they seemed to be doing more cleaning of the facility than in the past.
Porterville City Manager John Lollis had not heard of the closing when contacted by The Recorder.
“Very unexpected,” said Lollis, who said the loss of 140 factory jobs is significant. “It was contrary to information we had,” he said of recent conversations with plant officials. Lollis said the company had a downturn during the recession, but it was his understanding its business was picking up.
He said Royalty in Porterville produced carpet for large construction projects, such as hospitals and large offices.
Lollis also said Royalty owns a piece of vacant land just north of the plant, but when inquiries were recently made as to if that land was available to be purchased, plant officials noted it may be needed for future expansion.
City Economic Development and Housing Manager Jason Ridenour was shocked to hear the news Wednesday.
“Any time there’s job loss, it’s a blow to the local economy,” he said.
He also said the city wants to support those employees affected and connect them with the Workforce Investment Board for special services available to laid off plant workers.
Floorcovering News had a brief report on the closing. The website said the company was founded in 1969 by Mike Derderian. When he died in 2013, his daughter, Andrea Greenleaf, took over running the company.
In 2002, Royalty Carpet in Porterville was named the Tulare County Business Incentive Zone business of the year for its expansion and hiring of more than 200 workers at that time.