By Timothy O'Connor, La Porte Herald-Argus

toconnor@heraldargus.com

LA PORTE - Seventeen people have been laid off at UniTek Sealing Solutions while the La Porte-based company waits for the economy to improve.

The cuts represent nearly half of the manufacturer's workforce, which normally numbers about 40, according to human resources manager Tammy Sneed. She added that the cuts should be temporary and that the company hopes to start bringing employees back by March.

"That's definitely the plan," Sneed said.

UniTek manufactures rubber and plastic products and primarily serves the automotive industry. Sneed said the temporary layoffs are the result of slowed orders as the car and recreational vehicle industries have suffered.

"Everybody's going though the same thing," she said of the decline in production.

However, Sneed said while production will slow for the immediate future, it will not stop. UniTek has joined several other local manufacturers that have recently cut work forces. Metal castings producer Aero Metals announced the layoffs of 70 to 80 employees last week as customers have scaled back orders.

The cutbacks helped drive La Porte's unemployment rate to 9.2 percent in December, according to a report from the Indiana Department of Workforce Development. That's up from 7.2 percent in November.
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