| 100 JOBS GONE AT CLARKSBURG ALUMINUM PLANT - Attempts to find a buyer for Precision Coil hasn't happened. An auction of the aluminum fabricating plant is now set for June 3.
David Warner, director of the state Economic Development Authority, says it's now "very possible" the plant will close permanently.
That would eliminate about 100 jobs. About half of the work force has already been laid off.
HUNTINGTON DAILY NEWSPAPER LAYS OFF 24 - The Huntington Herald-Dispatch laid off 24 employees across several departments yesterday.
The layoffs represent about 15 percent of the 160 workers.
"This restructuring is responsive to the overall national economic situation and its impact on the newspaper industry as a whole, as well as our internal evaluation of efficiencies we had identified as part of our acquisition of the newspaper," said Marshall Reynolds, chief executive officer of Champion Industries, which owns the Herald-Dispatch.
At least five newsroom employees lost their jobs, including editorial page editor Jim Ross, who worked for the paper for more than 30 years.
Champion received a notice of default on a $70 million loan the company used to buy the newspaper.
UNEMPLOYMENT RISING IN WV - Unemployment rose in about half the counties in West Virginia in April, with 17 counties reporting double-digit jobless rates.
Pocahontas County lost about 180 jobs from March to April, bringing its unemployment rate to 16.9 percent, the worst in West Virginia.
Figures released Friday by Workforce West Virginia show the counties hurting most in the recession are concentrated in the central western part of the state: Mason, Jackson, Wirt, Roane and Calhoun counties all recorded jobless rates of around 12 percent.
Unemployment figures are based on workers currently receiving unemployment benefits.
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