The city of Marietta just got another wallop from the April 27 tornado, the one that killed a motorist on I-35 and left the city devastated.
The Dollar Tree distribution center that sits along the west side of the Interstate was so badly damaged by the EF-4 tornado, that the company doesn’t plan to reopen the one-million square foot facility. The decision could put nearly 450 employees out of work.
The tornado ripped open the roof of the center and gutted the large structure. Passing motorists on the Interstate can see how the building remains filled with damaged and destroyed goods.
“Given the facility cannot be reopened in the foreseeable future, we met with our DC team recently to share the incredibly difficult news that the warehouse will close at this time,” the spokesperson said in an email to KOSU Radio.
The company plans to continue paying the employees through June 22 and give them severance packages, benefits and access to Emotional Wellbeing Solutions resources.
“While we hope to have a Distribution Center to welcome associates back to in the future, we are still assessing our go-forward options,” the spokesperson said in an email. “As proud members of the Marietta community for more than 20 years, this region remains extremely important to the Dollar Tree family and to our broader supply chain network.”
Marietta remains in a state of recovery as the tornado, with 170 miles an hour winds, also destroyed a grocery store and badly damaged the Mercy Health Love County hospital.
The lone fatality was a passenger in a tractor-trailer rig.