AB&C Ending Abrupt

By Sandy James
Published: March 20, 2008

Eighty people were put out of a job last Friday, when the doors were closed at AB&C Group’s Orange call center.

The center has been located in the Old Silk Mill building since 1998 and employees handled orders and responses for leading catalog companies and answered product inquiries.

Attempts to contact company officials were unsuccessful.

“We are greatly disappointed with this closing,” said Julie Jordan, Orange County’s director of economic development.

Jordan said the call center employed as many as 155 people in the past. She said there were 117 full and part-time employees in December 2007.

Jordan said, according to information from employees, there were 80 employees at the Orange call center March 7. A March 10 lay-off affected 20 employees.

The remaining employees were terminated March 14.

Employees told Jordan people with direct deposit were getting funds, but those who received paper checks were not getting paid.
Jordan said many people still have not been paid.

“We have made efforts to contact the company but our calls have not been returned,” Jordan said.

The county’s economic development office is working with the Virginia Employment Commission to come up with a plan to help the ousted employees find work.

Jordan said there are some jobs available at Ridgid Kollmann and she is checking in with other employers in the county.

Angelia Greene was a supervisor at AB&C Group for the last four years. “I was deeply saddened when we were forced to close our doors on Friday,” she said. Greene said the employees recently experienced weekend incentive cuts, pay freezes and staff reduction, but they never thought the doors would be closed without notice or compensation.
Carianne Beaudet worked at AB&C for almost eight years.

“It’s just really hard when you don’t know what your life holds,” she said.

Beaudet said the employees were called into a meeting at 4:00 p.m. Friday and a human resources person told them the doors were closing and they were to collect their belongings and leave immediately.
“We don’t know if we will get paid for our last week, and our clients are in limbo,” she said.

Online news articles report AB&C call centers were also shut down in West Virginia and Rhode Island last week and parent company Blue Sky Brands filed for bankruptcy Friday.

The Orange County Office of Economic Development may be reached at 540-672-1238.