Columbus McKinnon Corp. officials said 138 workers will be affected by the closing in a notice sent to the city to comply with the Workforce Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act. The 138 are in addition to 27 employees already on temporary layoff.
A few employees might be offered transfers to another Columbus McKinnon location, plant General Manager Roy Crawley says in the letter. The company does not know which, if any, will have transfer opportunities, Crawley added.
The plant manufactures metal products for securing and moving loads, such as shackles and hoists.
Columbus McKinnon has begun severance talks with Machinists Local 831, which represents most of the plant's employees. Union Business Representative Joe Ironside said a meeting scheduled Thursday was postponed at the company's request. It probably will be rescheduled for Sept. 4, he said.
Columbus McKinnon has been in intermittent talks since April with the union about closing the plant. It plans to move production from Cedar Rapids to its Dixie Industries plant in Chattanooga, Tenn., to reduce overhead.
Shutdown-related layoffs Sept. 25 will affect about 10 employees. Additional layoffs are planned Oct. 9, Oct. 23, Nov. 6, Nov. 20, and Dec. 17.
-- Contact the writer: (319) 398-8317 or david. dewitte@gazcomm.com
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