Comment on Soon-to-be-unemployed workers getting help

WILLIAMSBURG — When Kinze Manufacturing in Williamsburg knew that it would lay off 215 employees in late June, the company made plans to help those workers transition to new jobs. Employee-assistance workshops were held July 8 and July 9 at the Kinze Innovation Center in Williamsburg. The workshops, open only to the furloughed workers, included a variety of career-related information and assistance with writing and printing resumes. On that second day, the manufacturer hosted a career and job fair at its Kinze Innovation Center, on its campus, giving former employees an opportunity to interview for new jobs with interested area employers. “Shortly after the word got out that we had made the (layoff) announcement, we had employers from the local area calling us and asking how they could meet and screen previous Kinze employees,” recalled Jeff Vogts, director of human resources at Kinze, a 40-year-old manufacturer of row crop planting equipment and grain auger carts. “We said that we would be glad to host something for employers and our former employees.