Rumors about Senture’s exit exaggerated

The famous writer Mark Twain is frequently quoted as saying in regards to rumors about his possible demise, “Reports of my death are greatly exaggerated.”

A similar quote might also be said about discussions during Monday night’s Williamsburg City Council meeting that Senture’s Williamsburg facility is closing.

Councilman Richard Foley noted during the meeting that he heard Senture was shutting down the Williamsburg facility, which is located at Cumberland Regional Mall, and inquired if the rumors were true.

Mayor Roddy Harrison said that he has spoken with a someone, who confirmed to him that the facility would be closing in March 2022.

Given that employment at Senture varies between about 250 – 400 people at the Williamsburg facility depending on what contracts the company has at any given time, this is sort of a big deal for Williamsburg.

When company officials were contacted about the matter Tuesday afternoon, they gave a somewhat different response to the rumors.

“Our experience with Williamsburg, Kentucky, has been a positive one, and we plan to continue to be an active employer and member of the Williamsburg community even though a decision has been made not to renew our lease for our mall location,” Senture’s Director of Human Resources Vicki Blair wrote in a statement to the News Journal.

“With many of the changes made since the pandemic, many of our clients have allowed our employees to work from the safety and convenience of their homes. Currently we only have 30 employees working at the facility, but we have over 300 employees working from their homes in Whitley County. We have no plans to stop at this number as we continue to grow our business. These employees are paying the local and occupational taxes and continue to support your community just as though they were onsite. Again, we plan to be a very visible and active employer in the Williamsburg and Whitley County community.”

Harrison added Monday night that he has also heard another group is already touring the Senture facility, so he is hopeful that the building won’t sit empty for long.