By Staff
Stanadyne won’t say how many positions were lost in January
By TED STRONG
Staff Writer
A Stanadyne Corp. executive on Thursday confirmed the company laid off workers in Washington in the second half of January.
Company officials hadn’t announced the layoffs, but one official acknowledged the cuts had occurred when asked about them.
The company was also mum on how many workers at each of its plants were laid off.
Tom Thompson, Beaufort County’s chief economic developer, said he wasn’t sure how many workers lost their jobs, but he didn’t believe there were many.
Still, he said, job losses hurt.
Layoffs were made at about the same time at the automotive-parts manufacturer’s other U.S. plants in Windsor, Conn., and Jacksonville.
A newspaper in Connecticut reported that about 140 jobs were thought to be lost there.
Jean McCarthy, the company’s vice president for human resources, said the job cuts in Washington included full-time and part-time workers.
She said no functions were totally eliminated from the Washington facility, but production was cut to reflect decreased demand for parts.
McCarthy said the company wants the economy to turn around, allowing it to rehire the workers it laid off, but she noted the economy’s future is uncertain.
Thompson said there is some good news concerning the economy. A few firms have gotten orders in, and Beaufort County seems to have dodged the worst bullet of all, the loss of an entire plant, he said.