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About 30 employees laid off by FiberMark plant in Lowville, N.Y.(Watertown Daily Times (NY) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Jan. 21--LOWVILLE -- About 30 workers at the FiberMark plant here have been laid off, according to a union official. "It's really a sign of the times," said James H. Ridgeway, north country representative of the United Steelworkers Union. Mr. Ridgeway said he is uncertain of the exact number of layoffs since they have been done in "spurts," but he estimated that close to 30 union workers have been affected. Some management positions also have been eliminated, he said. Calls seeking comment from the Brattleboro, Vt.-based company were referred to President and Chief Executive Officer Anthony MacLaurin, who was out of the office Tuesday. While Mr. Ridgeway was uncertain about the number of employees still working at the Bostwick Street plant, union officials in 2007 -- during lengthy and contentious contract negotiations -- said they represented about 160 workers. The plant's total work force is estimated at 175 to 200 on the Lewis County Industrial Development Agency Web site. FiberMark officials haven't provided the union with many reasons for the layoffs or whether they're expecting them to be temporary or permanent, Mr. Ridgeway said. "They do not share information as freely as some companies," he said. However, many other north country mills represented by the United Steelworkers Union also are laying off workers because of the stagnant economy, Mr. Ridgeway said. While layoffs aren't pleasant, they are sometimes necessary to adjust a company's inventory and operating expenses during slower sales periods, said Ned E. Cole, LCIDA's executive director. "It is unfortunate to lose any job in the county," he said. "Hopefully, when the economy comes back, they will adjust back to the level of their production needs." Even with the layoffs, the FiberMark plant still has many more employees than the 128 it had before an expansion project in 2003, Mr. Cole said. While Lewis County has seen some economic "disappointments" recently, it also has several successes, he said, mentioning Otis Technology Inc., AMFQubica, Kraft Foods and Burrows Paper as examples. "We're not getting hit as hard as they are on the national scene," Mr. Cole said. FiberMark, owned by Greenwich, Conn., investment firm Silver Point Capital, makes commercial paper products like vacuum bags, paper for wallpaper and CD covers. The company also operates a paper mill on Bridge Street, Brownville, that supplies some paper to the mill here, plus plants in Quakertown and Reading, Pa., and the United Kingdom. The Brownville plant is a nonunion shop. To see more of the Watertown Daily Times, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.watertowndailytimes.com. Copyright (c) 2009, Watertown Daily Times, N.Y. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. |