Closing Rumors Come True Executives of the Wilson Corp. arrived in Greenville to break the news to the employees as they walked in the front doors Monday morning. The company said in a statement that the company's tennis ball production is moving to Thailand because it's much cheaper to produce the tennis balls there. The price of tennis balls has not risen in approximately 25 years, but the cost of production in the U.S. has, company officials said. The company statement said that all 300 of the employees affected will receive severance packages, workshops, counseling, a job fair and interim financial assistance if needed.
Employees say that they started hearing rumors about a possible closing around the end of last year.
But Monday's announcement was still surprising for workers like Ricky Watson. Copyright 2001 by TheCarolinaChannel. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Quotes delayed a minimum of 20 min.