It was once a point of pride that our Congressmen and Senators from WV had been able to acquire a Federal facility in our State. Former Congressman Alan Mollohan and the late Senator Robert Byrd were successful in their quest to bring the FBI center to Clarksburg and the local economies flourished by the injection of well-paying jobs in area.
No more. Those same businesses in West Virginia now have employees laid off or employees working each day under the threat of being told their jobs are eliminated. Just like the boon to the economy when the federal businesses opened, those same areas now await the blow to the economy and the employees and families who now face unemployment face the unknown.
According to a list published by the WV Gazette the following areas have Federal businesses:
US Army Core of Engineers – Huntington – 1,000 employees
Dept. of Treasury and Fiscal Services – Parkersburg – 2,200 employees (250 have already been laid off and more may be forthcoming)
Dept. of Veterans Medicine – Parkersburg, Clarksburg, Huntington, Martinsburg – number of employees unknown
FBI Criminal Justice Center – Clarksburg – 2,500
Internal Revenue Service Computing Center – Martinsburg – number of employees unknown
NASA Katherine Johnson Center – Fairmont – 330
(This is an ongoing story and we will continue to monitor the cuts and attempt to get the number of jobs at facilities which are not releasing them)
Concerns of State officials and residents are will the local economy be able to provide employment for those who are suddenly without a job. What burden will those layoffs put on our unemployment system and Medicaid, Aid to Dependent Children etc. Will those who have come to WV for jobs at the facilities have to leave to find employment resulting in a population loss.
