Ashley Furniture needs 2,000 workers but can't find them
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SALTILLO, Miss. - Mississippi governor Tate Reeves toured Ashley Furniture's bedding manufacturing plant in Northeast Mississippi this week.

Ashley CEO Todd Wanek was there to tell Reeves that the company is struggling to find workers.

“We currently have over two thousand people we are trying to fill in the state of Mississippi,” he said.

Mississippi decided on June 12 to opt out of additional federal unemployment benefits. Reeves said he hopes the move will incentivize people to return to work. 

"We cannot have a full economic recovery until we get all of our people back employed," he said. 

Wanek believes it's a good decision too.

He says the company has taken steps to attract workers, including adding sign-on bonuses. He told WCBI News that the company is "looking at wages."

We've written quite a bit about the woodworking industry's inability to find workers. It remains the chief issue - affecting both large and small operations. Some think raising pay will go a long way. Others think the issue is more complex.

Let us know what you think.

Have something to say? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below.

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About the author
Robert Dalheim

Robert Dalheim is an editor at the Woodworking Network. Along with publishing online news articles, he writes feature stories for the FDMC print publication. He can be reached at [email protected].