Workers start job search

Jimmy Summers remembers the shock of walking into K's Merchandise earlier this year to the news that he would be out of work in January after 10 years of steady work as the store's jeweler. He was crestfallen, along with the other 60 or so employees, some who were like him and came on board when K's first opened in Cape Girardeau in 1996.

"I couldn't believe it," Summers said. "There was speculation, but I still was in shock. It was hard news to hear."

K's closing all of its stores was news that would lengthen the unemployment lines in Cape Girardeau. More bad news came earlier this week when Dana Corp. announced it was closing its Cape Girardeau plant and moving its 200 jobs to Mexico. Dana's workers will be laid off in phases, some as early as next spring.

Many of those 260 or so Dana and K's employees will find their way to the unemployment lines for a time.

Summers considers himself more fortunate than some of his fellow K's Merchandise castoffs. About two months after the news the Cape Girardeau department store was closing, the longtime jeweler landed a job at Rogers Jewelers at West Park Mall.

"As soon as I heard that K's was closing, I started weighing my options," he said.

His job is in demand, he said, and Rogers had been trying to recruit him for years. When the K's announcement came, national recruiters were ringing him up, but he opted to stay in town because of his 14-year-old son. Plus, the pay is comparable and he enjoys the work.

'My heart goes out to them'

But he still stops by K's to talk to his old colleagues, and he worries about them.

"My heart goes out to them," he said. "I hope they all land jobs."

Managers and employees at K's declined to comment, saying that "liquidators" refused to let them talk to the media.

Cape Girardeau County Commissioner Jay Purcell is worrying about his former co-workers at Dana, too. Before Purcell was elected to the commission, he was a Dana employee for almost 15 years. He's been on the phone frequently since the news broke about Dana closing in a cost-cutting move.

"It's extremely sad," he said. "You see these stories on TV every day, but you don't think it's going to happen to you or your friends."

It's especially difficult for Dana employees, he said, because they aren't certain they'll have jobs until June 2008. Some may be laid off much sooner and they don't really know when it will happen, he said.

Purcell said if he were getting laid off, he'd start making himself more valuable in the marketplace. He'd consider getting additional training or going back to college.

"There are a lot of training opportunities around here," he said.

That's exactly what many of them will do, said June O'Dell, president of the Southeast Missouri Workforce Investment Board. She said her staff met with Dana managers Friday to help set up meetings with employees.

Both WIB and a career center are in Marquette Towers on Broadway in Cape Girardeau. She said the Career Center offers several services, such as the use of phones, fax machines and computers for calling about interviews, preparing resumes or faxing job inquiries.

Also, money is available for additional training that doesn't have to be paid back, she said. About $7,500 a year is available for those seeking training in the medical field and about $5,000 a year is available for other kinds of work, she said.

Dana employees, with their technical skills, may be suitable for jobs at places like BioKyowa, Procter & Gamble and Nordenia, O'Dell said. But she cautioned employees at K's and Dana not to leave their jobs early -- if they quit before they are laid off, they're not eligible for the state services.

O'Dell said dislocated workers often show up at her office in shock.

"They don't know what they're going to do," she said. "... But with their work ethic and their history, they shouldn't have any problem."

smoyers@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 13