MONTCALM COUNTY, Mich. — On Saturday, Dec. 7 a massive fire broke out at Keystone Automotive Industries causing half a dozen departments to respond and more than double that amount of employees to lose their jobs ahead of the holiday season.
But the general manager of the Michigan Distribution Center of the automotive plant said the employees will be paid through the end of January.
"There will be no one who goes without a paycheck during the holidays," said Monica Deiters.
There are an estimated 150 employees who worked at the automotive plant. She said some temporary employees will continue to be paid although, Deiters said a number of them have already been placed in jobs with different companies.
According to Deiters, four temporary workers already in the process of being hired will also get paid.
But until this announcement, employees were worried they wouldn't be able to provide for their families during the holiday season.
"How am I [goint to] pay for my kids' first Christmas? How [am I] going to get my bills taken care of?" said production employee Matt Raab.
He also set up a Go Fund Me in an effort to help affected families.
Deiters said the company will re-assess the situation at the end of January.
No one was inside when the fire ignited and no one was hurt, but there was a shift scheduled for Saturday night.
The fire alarm went off around 10:30 p.m. Saturday night and crews worked throughout the night and into the next day to successfully put it out.
Officials are still investigating what caused the fire.
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