Twenty employees of Huntington’s Ecolab facility soon will lose their jobs, announced the Minnesota-based water, hygiene and energy technology and services company.
The current staff of 111 workers gathered together to hear the news from administrators. “We were taking a look at all our manufacturing around the country and world and trying to make it as efficient as possible, so we took this step to optimize production at the facility,” Roman Blahoski, Ecolab global communications director, said Thursday.
The company will eliminate the third shift and have workers in the first and second groups try to be more efficient to make up for the production shortfall.
“No particular incident triggered this. It’s not a reflection on the quality of work at the facility, but part of our continually optimizing our supply chain and related manufacturing,” said Blahoksi.
Ecolab in 1997 took over the longstanding Huntington Labs, which occupied the building at 970 E. Tipton St. since 1919. Before that, the site was used for a brewery.
Huntington at-large City Council member Jack Slusser said local government has done all possible to help Ecolab. “We’ve bent over backwards for all industry, giving tax abatements as needed and perks to maintain the number of employees,” he said.
Slusser is unhappy with the economic effect of the company’s layoffs, but indicates he understands why they were made.
“If that’s what it takes for Ecolab to survive here, then that’s what they have to do,” he said.
Blahoski states that pink slips now may mean fewer later. “We’re making this move with the hope we can protect the viability of the plant in Huntington,” he said.
The county’s unemployment rate is low at 3.8 percent, according to the latest report available, but Ecolab’s news follows announced layoffs of several hundred at area UTEC facilities. Regional economic development forces are uniting to try to prepare workers for the job changes, with the refurbishing and expansion of the Huntington County Community Learning Center and other efforts underway.
“We are providing a comprehensive severance package to those laid off, including career counseling services and severance with a base plus additions for years of service,” said Blahoski.
Slusser said the move is somewhat like what happened a few years ago with the municipality’s workforce. “The city of Huntington eliminated some people, most by attrition, and we became more efficient so that we didn’t have to hire back, and saved money though at some cost of positions,” he explained.
He added labor costs tend to be one of the most easily controlled factors in business, so Ecolab choosing to cut jobs was company officials doing what they knew they could to aid their bottom line.
Blahoski said no other layoffs are planned at his company’s facilities, which are in North and South America, Africa, Europe and Asia, and employ a total of 47,000 workers.