Correctional Officers and support staff of a private federal prison in McRae will find themselves without a job next month when McRae Correctional Facility shuts down.
Friday, news was released that CoreCivic, a Nashville-based private company, would be closing the prison as of November 30 when their contract with the Federal Bureau of Prisons expires.
CoreCivic says the closure will mean more than 250 people will lose their jobs as a result.
According to sources, the closure is based on the federal prison system’s decision to phase out private prisons.
The Telfair County prison houses 530 prisoners who are primarily noncitizens who’ve been convicted of federal crimes and are facing deportation after they are released.
Steven Owen of CoreCivic said the company has agreed to sell the 69-acre prison in McRae to the Georgia Department of Corrections for $130 million, although the property is valued at $48 million. The State has not said when their plans are for the facility.
The federal prison was built to house up to 2,000 inmates, but it currently only has 530.
To be clear: This is the FEDERAL private prison in McRae, and not Telfair State Prison in Helena which is operated by the Georgia Department of Corrections.
Owen said CoreCivic hopes to see employees who will be laid off find jobs with the Department of Corrections who is extremely short-staffed and seeking employees, or possible to find jobs at other CoreCivic facilities.
CoreCivic, formerly Corrections Corporations or American, operates prisons, immigration detention centers, and residential reentry centers in 74prison and jails in the United States with a total bed capacity of nearly 75,000.
