Insufficient demand and increasing price pressures lay behind the decision by Kimble Glass Inc. to close its Warsaw, Indiana plant, a company executive said 10 January 2006.
“Kimble“s decision relat…
Insufficient demand and increasing price pressures lay behind the decision by Kimble Glass Inc. to close its Warsaw, Indiana plant, a company executive said 10 January 2006. “Kimble“s decision relates to the market softness of demand for vials and ampoules, products which are made in Warsaw, as well as price pressures from customers,” Richard Hasenauer, vice president and director of human resources, said from Kimble“s headquarters in Vineland, New Jersey. “We have plants in North Carolina, Illinois, New Jersey and Mexico, and sadly Warsaw was the affected operation because pharmaceutical manufacturing capacity was higher than demand”. Ninety-eight hourly-paid and 15 salaried workers are employed at the Warsaw plant making small glass products used in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and scientific research markets. Hasenauer said work reductions might begin by the end of the January 2006, and manufacturing operations will end 2 June 2006. Kimble Glass employs a total of 1,700 in North America. United Steelworkers of America Local 614 represents 98 active workers at Kimble. Keith Olmstead, international representative of United Steelworkers of America, said workers“ wages at the plant range from USD 14.19 to USD 19.95, taking into account the wage rises scheduled from 1 February 2006. Olmstead said the company has been laying off workers since 2004 as jobs have been moved to Mexico. “(Kimble“s announcement) was something I was hoping was not coming, but frankly I was not surprised,” Olmstead said 10 January 2006. “When the last contract was ratified in 2003, there were 215 workers.” Concerns for the job prospects of the workers to be laid off mean that Olmstead expects to bargain hard for a good severance package including health insurance as well as retraining and outplacement services. Hasenauer said the company and the union have a contractual agreement regarding the financial element of the severance package: each employee is eligible for 40 hours of pay for every year of service up to a maximum of 1,000 hours. Other details will be decided in upcoming negotiations.