American LaFrance temporarily lays off workers today

[Guest]

American LaFrance temporarily lays off workers today

Staff report

Monday, December 17, 2007

American LaFrance is temporarily laying off as many as 100 workers while it works on reorganizing its production process and taking an inventory of its supplies.

The Summerville-based maker of fire trucks and other emergency vehicles announced late Friday that a temporary furlough of hourly and salaried employees would start today and last until Jan. 14. During the furlough, the company said, laid-off workers “will continue to receive all health insurance benefits and will be eligible for unemployment benefits as well.â€

Outside the Charleston area, the company said, plants in Hamburg, N.Y., Ephrata, Pa., and Sanford, Fla., will undergo “an extended holiday shutdown†from Dec. 26-31.

American LaFrance said it will conduct “a complete physical inventory†during the layoff and will put effort into “aligning all systems from production, finance and engineering to produce sustainable results.â€

In a press release, Bill Hinz, president and chief executive, said, “This temporary furlough is necessary to ‘re-boot’ the company and position American LaFrance for a successful 2008. While it pains me to implement this strategy, this short-term move gives us a chance to reset our work-in-progress priorities and return to an on-time delivery schedule.â€

from www.charleston.net

http://www.charleston.net/

[EJS1810 7]

Merry Christmas! :angry: