ROANOKE (WSLS 10) - After several companies announced hundreds of jobs would be leaving the Roanoke Valley, other companies are banding together to keep impacted workers at home.
Carilion, Advance Auto Parts, Meridium and several other Roanoke based businesses are hiring skilled workers who are beginning to hit the job market. The majority of the new positions are in accounting and information technology.
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"There was really a lot of interest, especially with the accounting and IT folks," said Joyce Waugh, the president of the Roanoke Regional Chamber of Commerce. "A number of the (impacted people) that wanted to stay in the Roanoke area will able to do so."
Over the last year, Advance Auto, Norfolk Southern, the United States Postal Service and HSN announced they will be relocating jobs out of the Roanoke Valley impacting hundreds of jobs.
Eric Altizer spent 11 years working for Advance Auto in the marketing department. Several months after the company announced it would relocate many corporate positions to Raleigh in the summer of 2014, Altizer decided he would stay in Roanoke and find another job.
"The way it worked is if you decided not to move they usually gave you a separation date two to three months later," Altizer said. "Mine was two weeks later because they basically had to fill the position fast because our entire team was moving."
A spokesperson with Advance Auto said Altizer originally planned to move to Raleigh, but then resigned.
After five months of unemployment, he was hired as a marketing and consulting specialist at Carilion.
"When I looked for jobs here I realized there's not a lot," Altizer said. "I was really lucky to get a job with Carilion."
Carilion spokesman Chris Turnbull said they made an arrangement with Norfolk Southern to look at the resumes of workers impacted by the relocation to find fits in the company.
Despite its own relocation of several departments, Advance Auto also hired 10 former Norfolk Southern accountants within the last six months.
Waugh, who helped match workers with open jobs, said it's a good example of a strong workforce and a resilient economy.
"I think it says a lot about our community that those opportunities are available."