Louisiana Floods Greatly Affect Auto Dealership Employees

Aug 23, 2016 12:50 PM EDT | Irene Cabrera

The Louisiana floods that started on August 12 has taken its toll on several business establishments, in particular auto dealerships that have to contend with just a limited number of employees.

The co-owner of Louisiana-based Fabre Group of dealerships, David Fabre, reveals that out of the 126 employees at his stores in Baton Rouge, at least 26 of them have lost either their homes or their vehicles due to the Louisiana floods.

During the flooding period, Fabre reveals that only around 15 percent of his employees reported for work, as they were the only ones who didn't have to deal with personal losses or had the ability to find ways to get to work. On Friday, he revealed that approximately 75 percent of his employees have reported for work, according to Automotive News.

Fabre has 18 workers at a Subaru store, 53 workers at an Infinity dealership and 55 workers at his Acura store. He adds that the water is now ebbing, and that he is having difficulty communicating with some of his employees but heard that some of them were faring alright.

A spokesperson from State Farm Insurance said on Friday that around 16,000 auto claims were filed since the start of the Louisiana floods, but could not conclude if how many of those were related to business. Baton Rouge-based Team Toyota said they were about to get new inventory, while All Star Automotive is working to regenerate the dealerships.

The president of the Automobile Dealers Association in Louisiana, Will Green says that while majority of the 60 to 80 dealerships are facing losses of employees due to the Louisiana floods, he expects four dealerships to experience weighty supply losses.

"We were fortunate that only a small number of our area dealerships took on water," Green said. "Again, the real effects will be seen in the form of dealership employees and area families that lost homes and thousands of vehicles that will need to be replaced."

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