Kohler Co. to lay off 160 workers
By Eric Litke Sheboygan Press staff
Kohler Co. announced today it will lay off 160 employees at its Sheboygan County operations.
The company did not immediately say when the measure would take effect or how long the employees may be idled, but one of the affected employees said the first layoffs will come by the end of this week.
The layoffs will affect the company’s distribution center and cast iron and engine divisions — all within the Village of Kohler — and the generator division, housed in a Town of Mosel factory, said Todd Weber, company manager of kitchen and bath public relations.
“The layoffs are a result of slow production in the housing industry, and I guess we have to just monitor the industry to see if they are permanent or temporary,” Weber said. A company statement termed the move a “seasonal work force reduction.
”One of the affected employees, a generator division worker speaking on condition of anonymity, said the workers were first notified of the layoffs about two weeks ago. Those affected are paid an average of about $20 an hour, the man said.
“(The) generator (division) unfortunately thrives on natural disasters, and the last major disaster we had is Hurricane Katrina, so we’re slow,” the employee said. Kohler Co. is the fourth-largest privately held company in Wisconsin, trailing only Wal-Mart, Menards and Kohl’s in total number of employees, according to the DWD. It has 33,000 employees worldwide, Weber said.
The number of employees in Sheboygan County wasn’t immediately available.No layoff notice was filed with the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development because the layoff will not affect more than 25 percent of the Kohler work force or more than 500 employees, a DWD spokeswoman said.
However, the DWD has contacted Kohler and will be working with the company to help those affected find employment through its dislocated workers program.The Kohler announcement comes amid mixed employment news from the area’s other major manufacturers.
J.L. French Co. last month received a $1.6 million forgivable loan from the state to add 100 jobs here. But Tecumseh Products Co. announced it will close its New Holstein plant by the end of August, idling the 320 workers that were employed earlier this year.
The Kohler Co. generator employee said workers have not been told whether the layoff will be permanent, but he said he is not expecting to be recalled and will be finding a new job or going back to school.“I always have the hope that eventually I’ll come back to Kohler,” he said.
The layoff is the largest announced since June 2005, when the company laid off 180 employees in its gas engine division, according to Sheboygan Press archives. In March 2003, Kohler laid off 173 employees in its pottery, generator and brass faucet divisions, archives show.
Nearly all of those employees were eventually recalled, the generator employee said.Kohler, founded in 1873, is a leading manufacturer of plumbing products for the home construction and home remodeling industry. The firm also makes air-cooled four-cycle engines used to power lawn and garden equipment and electrical generators.
From Sheboygan-Press.com
Kohler Co. announced today it will lay off 160 employees at its Sheboygan County operations.
The company did not immediately say when the measure would take effect or how long the employees may be idled, but one of the affected employees said the first layoffs will come by the end of this week.
The layoffs will affect the company’s distribution center and cast iron and engine divisions — all within the Village of Kohler — and the generator division, housed in a Town of Mosel factory, said Todd Weber, company manager of kitchen and bath public relations.
“The layoffs are a result of slow production in the housing industry, and I guess we have to just monitor the industry to see if they are permanent or temporary,” Weber said. A company statement termed the move a “seasonal work force reduction.
”One of the affected employees, a generator division worker speaking on condition of anonymity, said the workers were first notified of the layoffs about two weeks ago. Those affected are paid an average of about $20 an hour, the man said.
“(The) generator (division) unfortunately thrives on natural disasters, and the last major disaster we had is Hurricane Katrina, so we’re slow,” the employee said. Kohler Co. is the fourth-largest privately held company in Wisconsin, trailing only Wal-Mart, Menards and Kohl’s in total number of employees, according to the DWD. It has 33,000 employees worldwide, Weber said.
The number of employees in Sheboygan County wasn’t immediately available.No layoff notice was filed with the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development because the layoff will not affect more than 25 percent of the Kohler work force or more than 500 employees, a DWD spokeswoman said.
However, the DWD has contacted Kohler and will be working with the company to help those affected find employment through its dislocated workers program.The Kohler announcement comes amid mixed employment news from the area’s other major manufacturers.
J.L. French Co. last month received a $1.6 million forgivable loan from the state to add 100 jobs here. But Tecumseh Products Co. announced it will close its New Holstein plant by the end of August, idling the 320 workers that were employed earlier this year.
The Kohler Co. generator employee said workers have not been told whether the layoff will be permanent, but he said he is not expecting to be recalled and will be finding a new job or going back to school.“I always have the hope that eventually I’ll come back to Kohler,” he said.
The layoff is the largest announced since June 2005, when the company laid off 180 employees in its gas engine division, according to Sheboygan Press archives. In March 2003, Kohler laid off 173 employees in its pottery, generator and brass faucet divisions, archives show.
Nearly all of those employees were eventually recalled, the generator employee said.Kohler, founded in 1873, is a leading manufacturer of plumbing products for the home construction and home remodeling industry. The firm also makes air-cooled four-cycle engines used to power lawn and garden equipment and electrical generators.
From Sheboygan-Press.com
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