The 128 people who lost their jobs last week when Lee Brass suddenly closed its doors are starting to hear from the company after many say they were blindsided and didn't know where to turn.
A letter from Fidelis Management, the company that handled operations at Lee Brass, blamed the closure on Southern States Bank, which holds a security interest in all of Lee Brass' assets.
"Last week, the bank sent letters to all Lee Brass customers (which Lee Brass learned of only when it began receiving calls from those customers), and without prior notice to Lee Brass, swept all the funds from Lee Brass' bank accounts, including its payroll account," the letter explained. "Efforts to persuade the bank to release funds necessary to pay the Lee Brass employees' back wages and allow operations to continue until we could find a buyer willing to purchase and operate Lee Brass as a going concern were rejected by the Bank."
Employees told 1819 News that much of Lee Brass's management did not get their last checks. Fidelis told employees, "Lee Brass literally has no money to pay wages."
Still, Fidelis said after all assets are settled, they will "endeavor to find the funds to pay each Lee Brass employee any wages that are owed."
Lee Brass initially told employees on August 9 that operations would cease the week of August 12. However, employees told 1819 News the foundry never reopened.
"They never gave us no warning," said Robert Milton, who worked at Lee Brass for eight years. "They never told us. They just said we won't work that week."
Milton was thankful to get his last check but said his supervisor didn't. He said he believes even company execs were caught off guard by the closing. They had just renovated office space, put in new TVs and updated the conference rooms.
He said Lee Brass had plenty of business and was so busy they were behind on orders at the time of the closure.
Eric Powell worked at Lee Brass for 26 years. He said he wasn't surprised when the plant closed but never thought it would happen without notice.
"Whenever we would ask is the plant going to close down, they kept telling us the same thing is that we have plenty of work," Powell said. "And we found out the plant closed through social media."
Facebook is how other employees are continuing to get information. Eugene Pagne, Jr. said his supervisor told him on Facebook that employees no longer have health insurance.
"Benefits and health benefits finished on the 14th," Pagne said. "We didn't find that out until the 16th via Facebook."
"My supervisor contacted me on Facebook and let us know that we don't have any health benefits," he said.
Pagne said he worked 50 hours a week when he started at Lee Brass in 2022. However, his hours were changed this year because management told them they needed to save money. He said he was devastated that he was no longer employed because he loves to work.
"My job meant everything to me," said Pagne. "Because the thing is, I'm 45 years old, and I've been working since 1995. I've been paying taxes that long, so I'm working over 30 years."
"So, I have 30 years of work experience in different categories, in different industries, so it meant everything because I wanted to go ahead and give them 20 years so I could retire from this company," he said.
Pagne said he had already successfully landed an interview, but he was still waiting and hoping for the best. He said the closing is another reminder for many that nothing in life is guaranteed.
"Lee Brass was Anniston; when you thought of Anniston, you thought of Lee Brass," Pagne said. "That was a powerhouse, man, and they ran into the ground. What they did was just wrong, man, and they put us out of there."
The letter from Fidelis stated that Southern States Bank has liquidated all of Lee Brass' assets and is planning an auction sale.
To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email erica.thomas@1819news.com.
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