United Furniture lays off 2,700 workers
United Furniture Industries — the Tupelo-based furnishings manufacturer that recently laid off its entire staff via email and text message – received more than $3 million dollars in taxpayer money through business incentive grants since 2009.
The furniture company regularly got sums every few years — ranging from $200,000 to $1.3 million — in exchange for the promise to create jobs.
It was the largest employer in Monroe County. Now, its owner is missing and its former employees are filing lawsuits and hunting for new jobs.
“It’s a disgrace is what it is,” Jackson-based attorney Phil Hearn told Mississippi Today.