Black & Decker closing doors
Posted on Sunday, May 4, 2008
DECATUR - Black & Decker Corp. is closing its Decatur plant and laying off all 82 employees as part of a companywide cutback that will eliminate 3 percent of its work force.
The Towson, Md.-based toolmaker made the announcement Thursday after reporting firstquarter earnings were down 37. 6 percent from a year earlier, citing the slumping housing market and the subprime mortgage crisis.
A plant official confirmed Friday that the power washer manufacturing facility will be shuttered by the end of the summer.
Chuck Chism, director of operations, said layoffs will be done in three rounds, with the first round to affect about 40 employees at the end of June.
A second round is tentatively scheduled for the end of July.
The facility will be completely closed by the end of August, Chism said.
"This plant a few years ago made about 7, 000 machines a year," Chism added "Our current business is considerably less than that."
Work performed in Decatur will be relocated to Jackson, Tenn., since that facility has available manufacturing capacity, he said.
Decatur is expected to feel the effects of layoff.
The mayor of the Benton County town of about 1, 500 people said in previous stories that the community benefited from having the plant that originally operated as Excell Manufacturing and made hoist assemblies for Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.
Black & Decker bought the Decatur facility in 2004 from Pentair, a Minnesota-based tool manufacturer.
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