(Hat tip to Facing South)
Avondale Mills will be shutting down its operations from South Carolina to Georgia, eliminating 4,000 textile jobs in its attempts to settle its debts or shut down through liquidation.

The company says increasing imports and declining sales over the past decade contributed to the decision, but the tipping point was a train wreck and a chlorine spill that killed nine people and injured hundreds:

The Jan. 6, 2005, crash caused a leak of chlorine gas from derailed tankers, killing nine people, injuring 250 and forcing the evacuation of 5,400 people.

The company’s mills were shut down for weeks. Since then, Felker said, he and other company officials have tried to get Graniteville’s operations back on solid footing.

“We realized it just wasn’t going to be possible,” he said.

All I have to offer is that, in some ways, the long-term economy of North Carolina might have benefited by moving from manufacturing/textiles, to tech jobs. But, who is to say? For now best wishes, condolences, and luck to the workers and their families is appropriate.