Knauf Insulation, in Shelbyville, Illinois, US, has informed the Indiana Department of Workforce Development (DWD), that it will lay off 100 workers for at least six months because of the slowdown in …
Knauf Insulation, in Shelbyville, Illinois, US, has informed the Indiana Department of Workforce Development (DWD), that it will lay off 100 workers for at least six months because of the slowdown in building projects which is continuing to reduce demand for its products. The company said that it expects to start letting go employees the week of 6 June and is unsure at present whether the layoffs will be permanent. The economic recession continues to have a tremendous negative impact on the entire building materials market, Cindy Allen-Stuckey, Knauf“s director of human resources, wrote in its notice to DWD. The down markets, coupled with excess inventory, have forced Knauf Insulation to make strategic production adjustments in order to keep supply in line with demand. The company manufactures thermal and acoustical fiberglass insulation for residential, commercial and industrial building applications. In Shelbyville, the German company has two plants, employing about 500 workers. Knauf has been obliged to reduce its workforce the past few years, and laid off 118 corporate employees and let go 65 hourly workers in December 2008. Knauf, which came to Shelbyville in 1978 when it bought a fiberglass factory, employs about 1,250 people in its US operations.