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Corning Consumer Products: job cut-back

7 January 1999: US-based Corning Consumer Products Co. intends to stop making Corelle-brand cups and Pyroceram-brand commercial tableware at its glass factory in Charleroi by the end of February, elim…

7 January 1999: US-based Corning Consumer Products Co. intends to stop making Corelle-brand cups and Pyroceram-brand commercial tableware at its glass factory in Charleroi by the end of February, eliminating about half of the plant“s 580-member work force, said a recent press report. Pyrex brand cookware, the widely known brand of glass baking dishes and measuring cups, known the world over, will continue to be produced at the 106-year-old plant. Pyrex has been on the market since 1915. The decision will idle a US$ 27 million facility built at the factory just 10 years ago with state aid to make Pyroceram cups and tableware sold to schools and other institutions under the brand name Pyroceram. The company recently blamed “manufacturing economics” for its decision to move Corelle products to Martinsburg, West Virginia (US), and said the Pyroceram products commercial tableware could not be made alone profitably once that move was completed. But the United Steelworkers union, which represents the plant“s workers, charged that Corelle products made in Charleroi would now be outsourced to foreign suppliers, an allegation that the company confirmed without giving details. “That may be part of the mix, yes,” said company spokesman David T. Lanzillo. Union representative Roy Albert said the loss of jobs to foreign producers “doesn“t sit very well with us and we have definitely expressed our views to the company.” The union will help displaced workers navigate government retraining and job placement programmes while it atttempts to persuade the company to expand rather than contract the plant. “It“s our hope that this move will only be temporary. But I can“t make any guarantees,” Albert said. “The bottom line is we“re going to work very, very hard to produce the best result for our members.” Tony Lazzarai, president of the union local, said he was not optimistic that the company will reverse its decision on Corelle, but said it was possible the Pyrex line could perhaps be expanded. Peter Campanella, the company“s president and chief executive, called the reduction in production a difficult decision because of the loyal, skilled work force in Charleroi. “However, we operate in an ultracompetitive retail environment and the efficiencies and capabilities we will gain through this consolidation are critical for our future,” he said in a statement. Lazzarai said employees have been aware of the possibility of a consolidation for about a year. He said work continued at a steady pace even after the announcement was made on Monday. “It“s hard anytime you“re losing a job,” he said. “But the amazing thing is people are still setting records packing and producing Corelle cups. I think that shows the kind of people we work with.” Corning Inc. sold its household products division, which includes some of the best-known brands in cookware, to Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., the New York investment firm, earlier this year for US$ 593 million. The resulting new company, Corning Consumer Products, is run by KKR“s Borden Inc. unit. The sale of the products that made Corning Inc. a household name was intended to permit the company to focus on technology businesses including optical fibre and related telecommunications equipment. Lanzillo, the Corning Consumer Products spokesman, said the curtailment of production at Charleroi is scheduled to take place at the end of February, but that could be delayed if there are unfilled customer orders. Negotiations on severance and related issues will be held over the next several weeks with representatives of United Steelworkers Local 53G, which represents plant workers, Lanzillo said. The Charleroi plant has been operating continuously since 1893. Originally the Macbeth-Evans Glass Co., it became part of the Corning Glass Works in the mid-1930s through a merger. The facility has been upgraded several times. Albert said the employees have saved the facility from an uncertain future many times because of their hard work and ideas. “We have something money can“t buy and that“s the work ethic and the success the workers have had at this plant,” he said. Charleroi Mayor Ed Paluso said he was disappointed by the company“s decision to slash the local work force. “We are extremely upset with this coming just before the holidays,” he said. Paluso said that he, other community leaders and the union“s Tony Lazzari, president of Local 53G, contacted the Governor“s Action Team when reports began to circulate about possible layoffs at the plant. The Action Team is a group of quick-moving economic specialists who can offer incentives and aid to companies to keep them in Pennsylvania.

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