Franklin Clark -- fclark@cadizrecord.com

Tuesday, December 09, 2008

American National Rubber plant on Industrial Drive in Cadiz laid off almost 50 people on Friday, Dec. 5, according to Juliet Allen of the Workforce Development Board. According to Sheila Clark, director of the Workforce Development Office, another 16 were previously laid off on Wednesday, Nov. 5.

Allen said the plant was originally planning to lay off 20 people on Friday, but when the WKWIB rapid response team arrived at the plant, it was learned the company had decided to lay off a total of 48 people that day. She said she didn’t know the reason for the increase.

ANR General Plant Manager Ernie Baker stated that no notices had been given, and said that out of 76 workers, about 50 had been laid off on Dec. 5. Baker cited “plummeting sales” as the primary reason for the layoffs.

However, Baker also stressed that “for right now, the plant is not closing,” and that they will stay open as long as they can. However, he added that could change in the coming days, weeks or months, given current economic troubles, as automotive sales wouldn’t be increasing “any time soon.”

Clark said there was speculation that the plant would be closing on Dec. 12 when the WKWIB rapid response team arrived at the ANR plant on Friday, however, as of Monday, Dec. 8, there were no official indications of that happening.

Clark said as of Dec. 8, she also hadn’t seen any warn notices sent to the plant, although one might have been sent, and called what has happened “a layoff activity.” Typically, warn notices are sent by the company and are signed off by the human resource department only if either the plant is closing or losing more than half its workforce, added Clark. Only plants with 100 or more employees are required to issue such warn notices.

This story and other economic developments are in this weeks The Cadiz Record