Cost cutting at television glassmaker Techneglas will lead to the loss of around 115 jobs across the firm“s three CRT plants in the eastern USA. Hardest hit by the cuts is the plant in Pittston, Penn…
Cost cutting at television glassmaker Techneglas will lead to the loss of around 115 jobs across the firm“s three CRT plants in the eastern USA. Hardest hit by the cuts is the plant in Pittston, Pennsylvania, where up to 90 salaried and hourly-paid workers will be laid off from a total plant workforce of 700. Over the last four years, two-thirds of the workforce at the plant have been laid off. Joseph Schaeufele, vice president of manufacturing and engineering at the company“s corporate office in Columbus, Ohio, said 3 May 2004 that the company did not take the matter lightly and added that the company was not just looking at labor as a way to reduce costs. The job cuts are one of a number of steps the company is taking to stay in business, he said. Line speeds at the manufacturing plants are increasing and vendors are being asked to reduce prices. At the same time, the company has no plans to cut back on production and is struggling to meet the demands of customers such as the Matsushita/Toshiba Group, Schaeufele added. All four lines at the Pennsylvania plant are running. But to stay competitive and continue to supply glass to the marketplace shaped by the North American Free Trade Agreement, Techneglas must improve productivity, said Schaeufele. Randy Robbins, a local official of the Glass, Molders, Pottery, Plastics and Allied Workers International Union, said he agreed with Mr. Schaeufele, but that management also had to take more responsibility for its actions. He said the company had spent USD 1 million on an oven which has never been used. The union understands it has to do more with less, but management has to be do its part as well, Robbins said. To help improve productivity the local plant is getting help from Nippon Electric Glass, Techneglas“ parent company in Japan, and from the corporate office, Schaeufele said. “Techneglas wants to continue as a business in Pittston,” he said.