Taken from knoxvillebiz.com
The economic slowdown continues to take its toll on East Tennessee businesses.
Eastman Chemical Co. said Monday it was cutting 40 headquarters jobs, and the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development reported that six other area companies have or plan to slash a total of 126 jobs.
Eastman said it plans to eliminate the jobs by the end of the year as it restructures and keeps its budget at current levels.
Company spokeswoman Betty Payne says about 40 positions in nonoperation departments will be cut. Some jobs will be consolidated, while some others will be eliminated through attrition.
Eastman employs 10,500 worldwide in the manufacturing and marketing of chemicals, fibers and plastics.
In Knox County, Panasonic Electrical Devices Corp. of America announced it would lay off 40 workers at its Forks of the River plant between Nov. 20 and Dec. 31; and Corporate Quarters Inc. of West Knoxville laid off three people Oct. 31, according to the state Labor Department.
Also, Campos Foods LLC laid off 41 people at its plant in Campbell County Oct. 31; Astec Underground laid off 29 workers at its Loudon County facility Monday; and Great Dane Trailers let 13 people go at its Scott County plant Oct. 31, according to the Labor Department.
Clark Brandon, assistant general manager for Panasonic, said the layoffs are part of a decision the company announced in September to move its loudspeaker production from Forks of the River to its plant in Reynosa, Mexico.
“What we are doing is shifting the production of basic speakers to our Mexico facility, and we will be importing some of those back here to build into more complex systems,” Brandon said.
The plan is to move production to Mexico by the end of the year, and some of the employees affected will be let go in November and some in December. Brandon said these employees will be eligible for the federal government’s Trade Adjustment Assistance Program.
Also in September, Panasonic announced the layoff of approximately 10 percent of the 55-person work force of its operation to process a special aluminum foil used in capacitors. Depressed demand for consumer electronics, increased transportation costs and TVA rate increases were some factors leading to that action, Brandon said.
Campos Foods officials hope their layoffs will be a temporary setback, said Jim English, chief operating officer for parent company Lopez Foods. Campos Foods, which makes fully cooked frozen hamburger, pork sausage, pork and chicken products, opened in Caryville in 2005 as part of a joint venture with Advance Food Co. Advance Food owned the 80,000-square-foot facility where both companies had production operations. The plan was that Campos would expand its operations as Advance gradually pulled out of the building, but Advance moved more quickly than anticipated, English said.
“What happened is that we have not been able to grow our business fast enough to fill the plant, and they have fully pulled out,” he said. “We are having to scale back temporarily.”
Although the layoffs are permanent, the company hopes it will be hiring again as it is able to expand, English said.
Brandie Fuller, vice president of marketing for Great Dane Trailers, said the 13 workers laid off from the Huntsville, Tenn., plant were hired in October when the company was anticipating an increase in production but let go that same month when the increase didn’t take place. Fuller said the Huntsville facility, which employs about 130, makes flatbed trailers used extensively by the trucking and construction industries. A downturn in home building has hurt construction, which has dampened demand for Great Dane products, she said. The fuel cost spike hurt the trucking industry, and the credit crunch has hurt everybody, she said.
Still, the company is maintaining its production levels; it just hasn’t been able to expand, Fuller said.
Officials with Astec Underground could not be reached for comment. Headquartered in Chattanooga, Astec Industries bought the 300,000-square-foot John Deere Commercial Worksite Products plant in Loudon in 2002 and moved its Tencor Inc. subsidiary there. Astec Industries manufactures equipment for mining, asphalt, mobile asphalt paving and underground pipeline work.
Located off Lovell Road in West Knoxville, Corporate Quarters provides temporary furnished housing for travelers or people in transition by partnering with local residential complexes.
The Associated Press contributed to this report. Business writer Ed Marcum may be reached at 865-342-6267.
