About 9 p.m. tonight, the last Marlboro cigarettes will roll off the line at the sprawling Philip Morris USA plant in Concord, as an era closes on a once-mighty tobacco presence in the state.
The move to shutter what was once one of the region's largest factories displaces about 1,000 more workers in Cabarrus County, already confronting its highest unemployment rate in at least 25 years. It also means the loss of the county's biggest taxpayer. And the recession makes it uncertain when the 2,023-acre site might land a new owner.
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In June 2007, Philip Morris parent Altria said it would consolidate Concord's operations into its Richmond, Va., plant in 2010 in part because of falling U.S. cigarette sales. Nearly 2,500 people worked at the Concord plant at the time.
But in April, as the rate of cigarette sales kept dropping, Altria moved to end operations this month. Between 1996 and 2006, annual U.S. cigarette consumption fell by 24 percent.
"For all my life, we referred to 'King Tobacco,' and that's no longer the case in North Carolina," Concord Mayor Scott Padgett said. "And I don't think you replace something as large as Philip Morris."
[b]The workers[/b]
Bittersweet is how several Philip Morris workers described their feelings of the final days at the plant, which opened in 1983.
"Two years ago, when they first announced it, everyone freaked out. Now everyone has accepted it," said machine operator Darrell Graham, a 25-year plant veteran. Graham is trying to earn a business degree at the University of Phoenix, with Philip Morris covering tuition.
Quality assurance director Richard Wilson was 17 days from retirement when word came of the closing. He has now spent 32 years with Philip Morris, mostly in Concord, and said he decided to stay to increase his severance and help his team land other jobs.
Shift coordinator Sharon Johnson came to the Concord plant nine years ago after transferring from Kentucky. Now she's preparing to go to Richmond.
Last week, she and a co-worker coincidentally both wore red shirts. The next day, many other colleagues wore red to show solidarity, said Johnson, choking back a sob.
"It's like losing part of your family," machine operator Bobby Dunlap said of co-workers he'll miss.
[b]Social services[/b]
Employment and training officials are steeling themselves for more traffic even as Cabarrus County's unemployment approached 12percent in June.
"As far as manufacturing goes, (Philip Morris workers) will have to look for a new career path. There's just not enough manufacturing to handle the amount of people that are being laid off," said Carolyn Mays, who runs the N.C. Employment Security Office in Cabarrus. In the recession, roughly a third of the job losses in the Carolinas have come in the manufacturing sector.
And while Philip Morris workers said hourly pay could range from $17 to $29 an hour, the average hourly manufacturing wage in Cabarrus County is $16.85.
The company has worked with state and local agencies and offered tuition assistance and other aid to employees, spokeswoman Paige Magness said. It also opened an on-site transition center for workers.
Rowan-Cabarrus Community College's R3 Center, a career resource site, has had staff in the plant and intends to set up group activities next week.
[b]The community[/b]
Philip Morris' absence leaves a hole in the coffers of local governments and nonprofits alike.
Since 2000, Philip Morris and Altria contributed more than $16 million to local civic and nonprofit groups, and an employee fund awarded nearly $7 million in grants to area nonprofits since that time. Even with its departure looming, Philip Morris paid for fireworks at the city's last Christmas tree lighting, Padgett said.
After it announced its closure plans in 2007, the company said it would return more than $1million in state and local incentives and tax breaks tied to equipment upgrades at the plant. City and county taxes for Philip Morris last year totaled $11.4 million.
Now, agencies such as Cooperative Christian Ministry in Concord, which have received money from the Philip Morris employee fund, may need to assist some of the former workers. Getting several years' notice for a plant closure has helped the community prepare for the transition, said John Cox, who heads the Cabarrus Economic Development Corp.
[b]The property[/b]
Philip Morris does not have a timetable for selling the property, Magness said, but wants to dispose of it quickly and efficiently to avoid unnecessary expenses.
Jones Lang LaSalle of Chicago is handling marketing of the property. More than 100 companies, including manufacturing, publishing and redevelopment firms, have expressed real interest in the site, managing director Scott Miller said. The property offers a total of 3.5 million total square feet.
But citing the economy and tight credit markets, Miller added, "People love the facility, but they are concerned about (the health of) their own corporations."
For now, about 100 employees will remain to dismantle equipment, empty the plant and prepare it for sale. Most of that work should be done by year's end.
Today, the company plans to offer workers free meals and a commemorative clock with a picture of the facility.
"There's a sense of resignation" about the final day, said Wilson, the quality assurance director. "I can guarantee you some tears. You can just go ahead and know I'll have tears." Enditem
