(Sheldon)– More bad news today (Wed.) for the local economy.
Rosenboom Machine and Tool (RMT) announced layoffs at its manufacturing facilities in Spirit Lake and Sheldon. 64 full-time employees are affected: 35 of those are at the Spirit Lake plant; 29 at Sheldon. The layoffs are indefinite and effective immediately.
Human Resources Manager Jack Schreurs tells KUOO news it’s the result of the current national economic crisis. He says the downturn became significant with the beginning of the last quarter. Schreurs says market indicators gave them hope for improved demand in 2009, but that has diminished in recent weeks as customer orders in most sectors of the hydraulic cylinder market continued to decrease and he says forecasts remain soft. Schreurs says the company is actively trying to drum up new business, but he says it isn’t enough to fill the void.
Schreurs adds the decision was very difficult for RMT officials to make. He says it does not reflect on the character or workmanship of the employees affected.
Schreurs says RMT officials do not foresee any additional indefinite layoffs at this time. But he says the remaining 461-member workforce has been told that further cost containment measures may be necessary.
The reductions bring RMT’s total workforce at its Spirit Lake plant to 268 and 257 in Sheldon.
