Arkansas Business

Brady Lacy, president of the Conway Regional Chamber of Commerce, talked yesterday to Arkansas Business news partner THV 11 News about those surprise layoffs at Hewlett-Packard and the challenges of trying to replace 500 jobs.

According to Lacy, the challenge isn't necessarily finding employers who require similiar skill sets that the HP workers have. It's more about the sheer number of people who will want to fill those jobs:

Lacy said the 500 call center workers have plenty of skills to find other jobs but finding them all at once will not be easy.

"This economy trends a little more white collar, and so you'll have some opportunities there for some people but again, 500 people is just a lot of people to absorb," added Lacy.

Meanwhile, HP is offering workers 60-days severance. THV 11's Lisa Hutson said workers she talked to wouldn't speak on camera for fear of losing that pay package.