Washington Times-Herald
HUNTINGBURG - OFS Brands reported this morning that it will cease operations of its Plant 8 casegoods assembly plant in Huntingburg by the end of March.
The closure will affect 71 employees, who learned of the decision Thursday through letters each received.
The public announcement was made through a release sent to the media Friday morning.
"The economic picture has certainly changed in a short period of time" OFS President and CEO Hank Menke said in the news release. "We are not immune to the ever-changing economic landscape and we have reduced costs in multiple areas, but it is also imperative for us to realign capacity to lower sales activity."
Plant 8 will remain in operation for 60 days to comply with the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, or WARN.
This realignment is consistent with a plan to consolidate lower order volume into fewer casegood assembly plants, the news release said.
Of the 71 employees effected by the closure, some will transfer to other plant facilities and the company will bring in outside sources to help the affected employees write resumes and prepare for a job search, the news release said.
"We are approaching this economic challenge with a broad-range of cost reduction initiatives, with careful consideration to minimize the overall effect on our employees," Menke said.
Today's announcement became another sign that the struggling national economy had manifested in Dubois County. Four other major companies - Kimball, Decora, Masterbrand and Japser Plastics - announced layoffs or force reductions during the year.
Still, for most of 2008 the county was among the state's leaders in keeping joblessness low; it averaged 3.8 percent through the first 11 months, which is considered full employment. OFS Brands Inc. is a family owned corporation that maintains its headquarters in Huntingburg.