Coastal North Carolina is feeling the sting of a statewide spike in layoffs, as regional employers across multiple industries cut staff.
In Wilmington, the transportation sector took a hit as Avelo Airlines shuttered its local crew base, eliminating over eighty positions. Manufacturing is also seeing localized pain; in Tarboro, Corning Incorporated announced a permanent facility closure that will impact more than 120 workers.
Further inland, the regional healthcare system is tightening its belt. Greenville-based ECU Health and its partner Access East cut over thirty positions following the wind-down of a state Medicaid pilot program. Greenville is also bracing for the closure of Focus Services, which will leave nearly one hundred people without work by the end of April.
Even small-town infrastructure is at risk. In Chocowinity, the town recently voted to eliminate its EMS services due to budget constraints, leaving four full-time and thirty part-time employees facing unemployment this July.
