- June 22, 2021
- Posted by: Stratford Team
- Category: Business
Acme Smoked Fish would have already expanded by now, adding 150 new employees to its Pender County plant, if not for the pandemic-induced labor shortage. (Port City Daily photo/Courtesy Acme Smoked Fish)
SOUTHEASTERN N.C. –– If company leaders were confident they could find the workers, Acme Smoked Fish would have already expanded by now.
But the manufacturing plant 10 miles outside of Wilmington can’t fully staff its operations as is.
CATCH UP ON PART ONE: Manufacturing partnership forms to enhance perception of blue-collar jobs, build up local labor supply
The 275-person facility is running 35 employees short amid a pandemic-induced labor shortage. For now, overtime is filling gaps –– an undesirable and unsustainable fix.
Production is down 15%, as demand swells for ready-to-eat smoked salmon. Last year, laborers pumped out 9.5 million pounds of packaged salmon out of Acme’s colossal facility tucked away off U.S….
