IRMO, S.C. — One of the Columbia area's manufacturing facilities has announced it will lay off approximately two-thirds of its workforce in the next 60 days as the company transitions production to another site in South Carolina. The move by Shaw Industries, at 4401 St. Andrews Rd. in Irmo, will affect 203 employees.
In a statement to News19, Shaw representatives said the company is realigning its operations "to meet evolving demands...As a result, Shaw will transition residential fiber extrusion manufacturing processes from its Columbia, S.C. plant (known as 8S) to other facilities while continuing to invest in new technologies and fiber production at the company’s Aiken, S.C. location, where a $500 million expansion and modernization project is nearing completion."
The transition process has already started, and the shutdown of the fiber extrusion operations should be completed in Irmo within the next 60 days. Employees can apply for open positions at the Aiken facility and other Shaw sites throughout the U.S. The company has also partnered with the South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce (SCDEW) and organized career fairs in the Columbia area.
“These decisions are never made lightly,” notes Heather Canada Smith, vice president of human resources at Shaw. “The associates at Plant 8S have been instrumental in creating exceptional quality products, and we are committed to supporting them during this transition.”
According to SCDEW, Shaw employs approximately 1,200 people in South Carolina. A Shaw spokesperson said more than 110 jobs will remain at the Columbia facility as Shaw continues to operate nylon resin polymerization and post-industrial PET reclamation processes there.