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In a move sure to have far-reaching implications, Scott County’s oldest and largest manufacturing employer is preparing to shut down most of its operations.
Armstrong World Industries will cease most production at its Oneida facilities on April 9, the corporation announced last week.
Affected are the Strip Mill and lumber yard at the Oneida facility. Only the East Plant and chemical plant will continue production, while the local warehouse will also remain in operation.
While production is set to be dramatically scaled back, no one is calling the job cuts permanent.
Armstrong Vice President of Communication Beth Riley said her company was “idling” operations at part of the Oneida facility in response to a decline in her corporation’s markets.
“We regret having to significantly scale back operations in Oneida,” Riley said. “We consider this an action of last resort in response to current business conditions.”
Employees were informed of the decision shortly after 6 a.m. Thursday morning, as the first shift was preparing to start the day. Workers were told to take the rest of the week off—with pay—before returning to work Monday morning.
Ironically, Armstrong had informed the labor department in December that it had recalled all eligible workers from an earlier layoff and would be hiring another 10-to-15 workers to fill its shifts.
Scott County Mayor Rick Keeton said Thursday morning that his office had not yet been in contact with Armstrong officials, but said a closure of the Oneida plant would be “just huge.”
One employee, who has been with the company nearly two decades, said workers were holding out hope that they might be called back at some point in the future.
“We just don’t know right now,” he said. “They aren’t telling us a whole lot.”
The layoff came as a surprise, he added.
“When we went to the meeting, we were thinking they would tell us we were going to cut back to three days a week or something. We weren’t expecting this.”
In response to a question about severance packages for employees, Riley said the company “is in active discussion with the union in accordance with the collective bargaining agreement.”
The Strip Mill manufactures the company’s popular strip flooring. The East Plant manufactures parquet flooring.
Combined, the East Plant, chemical plant and warehouse employ 110 workers.
At its prime, the Oneida Hartco plant employed well over 500 workers.
Armstrong acquired the Hartco brand in 1998, when the Pennsylvania-based corporation purchased Triangle Pacific Corporation.
