Executives of Anchor Hocking Co. said there was nothing politicians or economic-development officials could have done to prevent the 250 job losses scheduled for April 2005 at its Monaca, Pennsylvania…
Executives of Anchor Hocking Co. said there was nothing politicians or economic-development officials could have done to prevent the 250 job losses scheduled for April 2005 at its Monaca, Pennsylvania plant. “Had we gone out and reached out, we really didn“t see anything that could have been done,” Anchor Hocking President Mark Eichhorn told a gathering of government and development officials on 28 January 2005, when asked why the company had not approached them for assistance before announcing the layoffs two weeks previously. “This decision was driven by a combination of factors, but simply, we have more capacity than we need, and the market was not there to keep us from (making the layoffs),” Eichhorn said. Eichhorn and Dan Taylor, Anchor Hocking“s director of manufacturing, also cited slow industry growth, foreign competition and rising costs for health insurance, shipping and energy, as reasons for the layoffs. The layoffs will halve the workforce at the Monaca plant to 250 employees. Eichhorn said the remaining employees“ jobs are secure. “We have no plans at this point in time to close the Monaca plant. Could that change in the future? Sure. But I don“t see that on the horizon. And, furthermore, if we grow the way we want to, we will have to have two plants,” Eichhorn said. Anchor Hocking also has a plant and distribution center in Lancaster, Ohio. The Monaca plant makes glass for lighting fixtures for residential and industrial use, as well as candle jars.