“The loss of Intalco was kind of the doomsday scenario for our community,” said Hansen.
A doomsday compounded by the coronavirus pandemic where government lockdowns closed businesses, and Ferndale s Main Street became largely deserted.
At this point, though, it’s impossible to determine which has had a worse impact on the town of just 15,000.
“Everything is really cloudy. It’s really difficult to see,” said Hansen. “We won’t know for a few years what the full impact of the loss of Intalco actually is.”
Economists say for every one job lost at Intalco, another 2.5 are impacted. That’s nearly 1,800 jobs in the area and the bleeding doesn’t stop there.