As Danville’s Quaker Oats Plant Officially Closes, Employees Plot Next Move

 THE FOLLOWING IS A NEWS-GAZETTE STORY BY JENNIFER BAILEY

ABOVE: Danville hopes to draw a new manufacturer to take over the site Quaker Oats will soon vacate.

DANVILLE — It was two months ago the announcement was made that the Quaker Oats plant that’s been open for 55 years in Danville would close June 8.

That day is now here, this weekend, affecting approximately 510 employees.

Quaker has been paying regular wages to employees through June 8. That’s the last day of regular employment for most employees.

A Notice of Plant Closure letter to employees, read, “The projected closure date will be June 8, 2024. Your separation date from the company will be within the 14-day period beginning on or about June 9, 2024.”

Many employees who have not found other employment will be filing for unemployment soon afterward, said Chuck Jones, director of Vermilion County Works. Employees also were eligible for severance packages based on years of service with the company.

Vermilion County Works doesn’t have specific numbers on employees who have found other employment.

Jones said, “we’ve been too busy serving employee training needs that we really don’t have current information on that.”

“I have heard anecdotally that some employees are finding employment, both locally and regionally. Through local job fairs and job postings through our office, employers both here and from outside the area have been recruiting the employees pretty heavily,” he said.

“Quaker was one of the highest paying employers in the area, so workers are searching for opportunities that will allow them to at least approximate the wages they had been making previously,” Jones said. “Other employees are taking advantage of paid training opportunities through our office. I can say that we have had over 150 individuals from Quaker contact us, with more contacting us every day. Some of them have actually already started training.”

Some employees are finding other jobs through International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 538.

“We’ve had some former employees from there, that had electrical experience, come out and talked with us,” said IBEW Local 538 Business Manager Aaron Goodrum.

The employees have undergone testing, and accepted membership, he said.

One of the former Quaker employees now is working with a contractor at Elanco, former Eli Lilly, pharmaceutical company which produces medicines and vaccinations for pets and livestock in Indiana.

More employees are in the process of being hired, and others have inquired about work through the IBEW website, Goodrum said.

Vermilion Advantage’s Mike Marron said he’s heard employees are seeking out a variety of different options, post Quaker Oats.

“Some people are waiting, some people have taken advantage of training opportunities, some people have taken CDL (Commercial Driver’s License) classes at DACC (Danville Area Community College),” Marron said.

Still a few others have found jobs in the community with different industries, including at thyssenKrupp.

“It’s been kind of a variety,” Marron said.

City and Vermilion Advantage officials also have talked with state officials and others about possible reuses of the plant site.

Danville Mayor Rickey Williams Jr. said U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth has been working to help the city receive $1 million in an appropriations bill for the Quaker site cleanup, for redevelopment.