Hasbro to lay off 200 workers, invest $40 million in its plant
By MARCIA BLOMBERG
mblomberg@repub.com
EAST LONGMEADOW - Hasbro Games plans to cut 200 jobs from its 1,350-strong workforce and invest about $40 million in its plant here if it can get union agreement to change some work practices, the company announced today.
The plan by Hasbro Games, a division of Hasbro Inc., calls for the elimination of about 180 manufacturing jobs and about 20 non-union office jobs, according to Wayne S. Charness, senior vice president for communications at Pawtucket, R.I.-based Hasbro.
Depending on the result of negotiations with the union, the layoffs could begin in February and would take a few weeks to complete, Charness said.
The office jobs are non-union, while the manufacturing jobs are all represented by Local 224 of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, United Food and Commercial Workers.
Melvin R. Drungo Jr., executive vice president of the New England Joint Board, a coalition of Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union locals from around the region, said the company informed the union this morning.
"They say they're going to eliminate 200 jobs, regardless, so we're trying to negotiate severance" for the laid-off workers, Drungo said.
Another meeting is scheduled for Friday.
He said Hasbro did not threaten to shut down the plant and move the jobs overseas if its requests were not met.
"They have to be more competitive to survive. A lot of stuff is going to China," said Drungo, who worked at the games plant for 20 years and served as an officer of the Hasbro union. "We're the only toy game manufacturer in the United States, so we have to make changes to stay competitive.
"We're going to do everything we can to save the jobs and support the ones that are losing their jobs, as much as we can," he said.
Charness said the company wants "to make certain work changes to make the plant more competitive going forward," including greater flexibility in making work assignments.
For example, if an employee working in one area of the plant has no more work to do, the company cannot reassign the employee to work in another part of the factory, Charness said. The employee can go home and still get paid, he said.
If it can get the changes it wants, the company is prepared to invest $10 million immediately and as much as $40 million over the next few years in the plant, Charness said.
The immediate investments would buy new injection molding machines, new high-speed assembly lines, new die-cutting equipment and new printing equipment, among other things, Charness said.
"The goal is to improve productivity to make the Massachusetts plant competitive, so that we can secure the substantial majority of manufacturing jobs left in East Longmeadow," Charness said.
Asked what would happen if the union doesn't agree to the requested changes, Charness said, "We're certainly optimistic we'll be able to reach agreement with the union, so we'll leave it at that right now."
Ruth M. Tetreault, president of Local 224 and a 24-year employee at the Shaker Road plant, said, "It's a sad day. It's always sad when somebody is going to be losing their job.
"We're just going to try to do the best that we can to help keep the jobs and help the people who might be losing their jobs," she said.
In her years at the plant, Tetreault said she has never seen a permanent layoff of this magnitude.
"I've seen 300 people get laid off for three months, but this is going to be 200 jobs, completely gone," she said.
In all, the union represents about 900 people in manufacturing jobs at the plant, Tetreault said.
About a quarter of the manufacturing workers are out now, scheduled to return in early February, she said.
The company and union are operating under a three-year contract signed last year.
While Hasbro uses some plants in China to manufacture its board games, most are now and would still be manufactured at Hasbro's plants in East Longmeadow and Waterford, Ireland, Charness said. The company employs about 300 in Waterford.
Hasbro Games - formerly Milton Bradley - manufactures games and puzzles including Monopoly, the Game of Life, Battleship, Candy Land, and Chutes and Ladders.
Find thousands of Bilingual jobs at LatPro.com.
mblomberg@repub.com
EAST LONGMEADOW - Hasbro Games plans to cut 200 jobs from its 1,350-strong workforce and invest about $40 million in its plant here if it can get union agreement to change some work practices, the company announced today.
The plan by Hasbro Games, a division of Hasbro Inc., calls for the elimination of about 180 manufacturing jobs and about 20 non-union office jobs, according to Wayne S. Charness, senior vice president for communications at Pawtucket, R.I.-based Hasbro.
Depending on the result of negotiations with the union, the layoffs could begin in February and would take a few weeks to complete, Charness said.
The office jobs are non-union, while the manufacturing jobs are all represented by Local 224 of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, United Food and Commercial Workers.
Melvin R. Drungo Jr., executive vice president of the New England Joint Board, a coalition of Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union locals from around the region, said the company informed the union this morning.
"They say they're going to eliminate 200 jobs, regardless, so we're trying to negotiate severance" for the laid-off workers, Drungo said.
Another meeting is scheduled for Friday.
He said Hasbro did not threaten to shut down the plant and move the jobs overseas if its requests were not met.
"They have to be more competitive to survive. A lot of stuff is going to China," said Drungo, who worked at the games plant for 20 years and served as an officer of the Hasbro union. "We're the only toy game manufacturer in the United States, so we have to make changes to stay competitive.
"We're going to do everything we can to save the jobs and support the ones that are losing their jobs, as much as we can," he said.
Charness said the company wants "to make certain work changes to make the plant more competitive going forward," including greater flexibility in making work assignments.
For example, if an employee working in one area of the plant has no more work to do, the company cannot reassign the employee to work in another part of the factory, Charness said. The employee can go home and still get paid, he said.
If it can get the changes it wants, the company is prepared to invest $10 million immediately and as much as $40 million over the next few years in the plant, Charness said.
The immediate investments would buy new injection molding machines, new high-speed assembly lines, new die-cutting equipment and new printing equipment, among other things, Charness said.
"The goal is to improve productivity to make the Massachusetts plant competitive, so that we can secure the substantial majority of manufacturing jobs left in East Longmeadow," Charness said.
Asked what would happen if the union doesn't agree to the requested changes, Charness said, "We're certainly optimistic we'll be able to reach agreement with the union, so we'll leave it at that right now."
Ruth M. Tetreault, president of Local 224 and a 24-year employee at the Shaker Road plant, said, "It's a sad day. It's always sad when somebody is going to be losing their job.
"We're just going to try to do the best that we can to help keep the jobs and help the people who might be losing their jobs," she said.
In her years at the plant, Tetreault said she has never seen a permanent layoff of this magnitude.
"I've seen 300 people get laid off for three months, but this is going to be 200 jobs, completely gone," she said.
In all, the union represents about 900 people in manufacturing jobs at the plant, Tetreault said.
About a quarter of the manufacturing workers are out now, scheduled to return in early February, she said.
The company and union are operating under a three-year contract signed last year.
While Hasbro uses some plants in China to manufacture its board games, most are now and would still be manufactured at Hasbro's plants in East Longmeadow and Waterford, Ireland, Charness said. The company employs about 300 in Waterford.
Hasbro Games - formerly Milton Bradley - manufactures games and puzzles including Monopoly, the Game of Life, Battleship, Candy Land, and Chutes and Ladders.
Find thousands of Bilingual jobs at LatPro.com.
Labels: Hasbro, layoffs, Massachusetts
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