140 jobs cut as legacy yarn company stops manufacturing in Listowel, Ont.

More than 100 people are out of work after a decades-old yarn company shuttered its flagship manufacturing facility in Listowel, Ont. on Friday. 

Spinrite, which opened in 1952 in the municipality of North Perth, has ended product production and will be closing its on-site brick-and-mortar outlet store in September. 

"It's really tough to lose a legacy business of 73 years," former employee Melissa Verkley said. 

"To see everything being closed is just so sad because there's still some old machinery in there from years past and it's just so beautiful to look at … Just to see that it's going to be sitting empty for a while is really sad."

Spinrite's first round of cuts started in January, which is when Verkley, who worked there as a receptionist for five years, lost her job. 

"Being versed in the world of learning and crocheting from a young age, it was a dream to get in there. I was so excited," she said of her experience.

CBC News contacted Spinrite to ask why it is shuttering its flagship factory, but the company could not be reached. This story will be updated if a response is received. 

The Municipality of North Perth responded to the latest closure when it was first announced in June, calling Spinrite "a valued corporation, a major employer, and a destination for many."

"This news is shocking, and we recognize the significant impact this will have on individuals, families, and the broader community," a statement posted to the municipality's website said, adding that the closure will impact 140 jobs. 

The municipality's economic development officer Kimberly Kowch said many Listowel residents are touched by the closure.

"Our neighbours, our friends and our family worked at Spinrite, so it's definitely been a big part of our past," she said. 

Factory boosted economy, tourism

Spinrite has been a major player in Listowel's growing economy, Kowch said, providing stable jobs for several generations of nearby residents.

"There were a lot of really longstanding employees at Spinrite. I think that [job cuts] will certainly have an impact for people who have been there for a long time, as well as for people who have those memories from past family members who had worked there before," she said. 

The end of the Spinrite manufacturing facility will also mark the end of the nearby factory outlet retail store, which sells a mix of defective, discontinued and regular yarn products. 

"It's unfortunate because a lot of us crafters like to go in, feel the yarn and see the colours in person," Verkley said, adding that the outlet's online store will continue to operate, but the experience is not the same.

"It's been really tough for myself and other crafters, mainly because it's nostalgic for me. I used to go out with my grandmother as a teenager and we'd fill up the van full of yarn that we would put towards charity projects in the winter," she said. 

The outlet store is known best for its annual summer tent sale, according to Kowch, which attracts crafters from across Canada and the U.S. who want to stock up and snag a good deal, turning Listowel into a "destination."

"It brought different tourists into the area because of the yarn sale and because of the popularity of their different offerings that they produced at the site," she explained.

Kowch said Spinrite plans to continue running a distribution office out of Listowel. The company did not respond to CBC News' request for confirmation. 

Employees seeking jobs

Spinrite has grown over the years, opening another Canadian location in Toronto and four American locations throughout North Carolina and Georgia. The Listowel location is the only factory shutting down.

Verkley said she and several other colleagues have struggled finding a job in the area since being let go.

"It's a small community so there's a few opportunities, but not very many," she said. "Of course, it's going to be tough to get the opportunity now that there's so many of us looking."

Kowch said the municipality is finding ways to support former Spinrite employees through events like job fairs, and added that work is growing in the area. 

"There are a lot of opportunities in North Perth," she said. "I think with our location and other operations within Listowel, it's certainly a business centre, and we will continue to work hard to bring investment and new opportunities to North Perth."