OSWEGO, NY – Employees at Oswego Wire Inc., learned Monday that the company is downsizing and moving the production of some of its bare wire products to operations in Indiana. As a result, more than half of the current workforce will be laid off by Sept. 29.
Owned by Illinois-based Coleman Cable, Oswego Wire presently employs 93 people, according to Human Relations director Kevin Porath. He said 53 of those workers will be laid off through the realignment.
Porath said that the company is making the changes in an effort to reduce costs by utilizing available internal capacity. Coleman Cable will continue operating the Oswego County facility to service regional customers and continue delivering specialty and multi-metallic wire constructions, he said.
At this time, Porath said positions have not been selected for layoffs. Employees are all eligible to be reviewed for consideration for one of the 40 positions that will remain in Oswego. The unit will be reorganized to “better match the requirements for the on-going operations,†he said.
“Affected employees are being offered a continuation of pay and benefits beyond their separation date to assist them through this transition period towards finding their next opportunity,†Porath noted.
Those who are not interested are being given the opportunity to take an immediate layoff, he said.
“We are going through the assessment period now,†Porath said. “Some people have taken themselves out of the running. Of those interested, we are looking at qualifications and seeing what positions are available to them as we move forward.â€ÂÂ
Porath pointed out that Coleman Cable has nine facilities, including the Oswego company, in the United States. He said the company has also notified employees to express any interest in moving to a facility outside of Oswego.
“Obviously we know this is going to have an affect on people,†Porath said. “We are going to help the employees as much as possible through the transition. … We plan to take good care of them.â€ÂÂ
Richard Carr, Executive Vice President of Coleman Cable, said the company believes the changes will help the company control costs during challenging economic times while allowing the company to focus on and improve manufacturing practices and customer service for the Oswego Wire customer base.
“We understand and regret the impact this will have on the families of the affected employees and the Oswego community, thus, we will provide them support to begin the transition process,†Carr said. “In addition, we are committing additional resources to energize and improve the on-going operations in Oswego.â€ÂÂ
Coleman Cable, Inc. is a leading manufacturer and innovator of electrical and electronic wire and cable products for the security, sound, telecommunications, electrical, commercial, industrial, and automotive industries.
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