TA Travel Center in Corning closing

CORNING — South Tehama County is losing one of its cornerstones, with TA Travel Center announcing it will be closing its Corning location.

“Like any successful business, we are constantly evaluating our portfolio to ensure we are operating in locations where it makes sense for our customers and our business,” a company spokesperson said. “In this case, we have a business location located directly across the street.”

The spokesperson shared that a KFC will soon be coming to the Petro Corning location.

“Professional drivers also have access to six TA Truck Service maintenance bays, Emergency Roadside Service, 14 diesel lanes, 10 showers, a CAT Scale, laundry facilities and many more amenities to help them feel they have a home away from home,” they said.

Reportedly, about 40 jobs will be lost when the center closes in mid-October but TA Travel Center didn’t confirm that number in a statement to the Daily News.

This news surprised Corning City Manager Brant Mesker, who only learned about the closure fairly recently. Mesker expressed a willingness to extend similar services to TA employees, which were available to Andersen and Son employees. He said he would have to coordinate with the Job Training Center.

The closure comes on the heels of the mass layoff of Andersen and Sons Shelling employees.

Around 321 individuals allegedly were laid off. According to the Tehama County Administration, the layoffs were made public on July 26. Andersen and Sons reported it had furloughed staff in the summer but said it was temporary.

About 50 percent lived in the Corning area, according to Mesker, which is about 175 individuals. TA Travel Center was asked how many employees would be affected by this closure or the location’s last day but did not respond to the Daily News before the print deadline.

A website was created to help those affected by the Andersen and Sons Shelling situation. This online tool is available in English and Spanish because, as Mesker said, Spanish is the most common language among the laid-off workers.

According to Mesker, around 60 to 65 employees are still working to process the 2023 product the company still has on hand.