Elwood plant lays off 60 workers

ELWOOD - An estimated 60 workers at an Elwood manufacturing plant lost their jobs in the past week, and more layoffs could be on the way.

Brian Stevens of ELSA confirmed Wednesday that at least 12 salaried employees have been laid off and several dozen hourly workers have been laid off temporarily. He would not confirm the exact number of hourly employees who were laid off this week.

Stevens said that this is the first time in the company's 25-year history that it's been forced to lay off hourly employees.

ELSA makes fuel tanks, mufflers and exhaust pipes for major automakers Toyota, Mitsubishi and Subaru. Stevens said that before the layoff, the company employed about 375 workers. The ELSA Web site said the company employs 530 workers.

Jean Sharp is one of the laid-off workers and said she believed that the company had completely eliminated the 12 salaried positions and laid off 48 hourly workers temporarily.

Sharp, who works as an administrative support technician, said she learned on Tuesday that she and 47 other workers were being laid off until June.

Her last day of work is Feb. 6.

The employees will not be given a severance package, she said. "They will pay for our insurance for one more month but then that's it."

Sharp said workers were also informed on Tuesday that another layoff is scheduled for April and all but 68 employees will lose their jobs temporarily.

The employees who are laid off in April, she said, won't have long to wait for work. "That will be for three weeks. They will come back in May. The ones that are getting laid off Feb. 6 will be back either prior to June or in June."

Officials at ELSA did not confirm the exact number of workers laid off Tuesday and did not mention any future layoffs but said more details would be available in the coming week.

Stevens said the company has been directly affected by the troubled auto industry and that the layoffs were triggered by "the economy and the lack of orders from our customers."

Elwood Mayor Merrill Taylor said ELSA is Elwood's biggest employer, followed by the Red Gold tomato company.

The news of ELSA's layoffs comes on the heels of a tumultuous summer in Elwood in which over 400 jobs were lost as Plastech and State Plating closed their doors and VarChem laid off dozens of workers.

"We've had our share of losses here with Plastech closing and State Plating closing," Taylor said.

Elwood, he said, is not the only town seeing job loss. "It's not an isolated thing. It's going on throughout the state. Cummins is getting ready to lay off 800."

Most of the job loss in Elwood is directly linked to the automotive industry, according to Bill Savage, director of economic development for Elwood. The Plastech plant that closed its doors and eliminated 286 jobs in July made fenders and bumpers for cars as well as interior and exterior plastic parts for various car models. State Plating closed in May and eliminated 70 jobs. It made some truck bumpers and parts for trucks and tractor-trailers. VarChem has already lost 29 workers.

Savage said an increasing number of manufacturing jobs have been shipped overseas. The result, he said, is a weakened economy. "The manufacturing industry is a very important element of the U.S. economy. Over the last 30 years, they let the manufacturing base dwindle and leave the country."

Taylor said ELSA has long been a reliable employer in Elwood. For the past 25 years of business, workers had little worry that the company would lay off employees because there was no precedent for it. Taylor said ELSA's success and recent struggles mirror those of the industry it supports. "The whole auto industry has been doing pretty well for 25 years. It's just been this past year that we've really started having a hit on it. 2008 wasn't a very good year for the auto industry."

Savage is hopeful about the future of the industry. "They'll make a comeback. They'll be all right when things pick up."

He said he is not worried that ELSA will follow in Plastech and State Plating's footsteps and close its doors. "I know it's just a downturn in the auto industry."

Until the auto industry rebounds, ELSA employees will rely on unemployment benefits and part-time jobs.

Sharp is a single mother to three children and knows that the next six months will be a struggle, but said she is not bitter toward her employer of three years. "I'm not angry. I'm not mad. I'm OK with it."

Sharp said she and other workers weren't angry about the news because they saw it coming as the auto industry took a hit. "We even joked about it yesterday. We all knew it was going to happen."

Though she will struggle to keep her children fed until work can resume in June, Sharp remains loyal to the company and said she knows the layoffs couldn't have been avoided. "I don't feel betrayed. With everything else that's been going on, you look at it as if they don't have a choice."

For now, she is trying to stay positive. "I will go on unemployment and I will continue to put out résumés and hope for the best and hope that I can come back in June or before then."