By Josh Kastrinsky, Reporter-Times
jkastrin@reportert.com
Harman/Becker Automotive Systems, one of Morgan County's largest employers, will begin reducing its Martinsville plant operations by eliminating 24 jobs next week, and ultimately eliminating 84 jobs, a union representative said.
Sharon Barnett, chief steward for Harman/Becker's union shop, said the firings will result in the permanent job loss of 84 employees within the next few months with possibly more to come within the next year.
Sixty of Harman's estimated 250 hourly employees probably will be laid off when parts are moved to a Juarez, Mexico, production facility, Barnett said. The job losses are permanent, she said, and more employees could be affected when additional production is moved to a facility in China.
Company representatives said they could not comment further until negotiations are complete.
The company has nearly 500 employees at its Martinsville plant.
"I've been here for 30 years, and it's the worst it's ever been," Barnett said.
Barnett is part of a negotiating committee that will meet Wednesday with company executives to discuss terms of the layoffs.
Sandra Alcorn, a 21-year production employee at Harman/Becker, said employees were informed of the situation at a meeting Jan. 23. Company executives told employees that 84 employees would be fired within three months, Alcorn said.
Employees older than 60-years-old were offered early retirement packages that includes one week of paid vacation for every year employed with Harman/Becker plus other options, she said. Only 24 of the plant's unionized employees would be eligible, she said they were told.
Alcorn said she was given the option of a similar severance package, but did not like the figure she calculated.
"I totaled it all up, and it would only be $7,400 for 21 years," she said.
The company said building an Asian production facility eases the cost of delivering parts to a growing market, Alcorn said.
"When we build (products) and ship it over there, it's a big cost," she said.
Employees assumed the new Asian plant would take longer to construct, she said.
If these events unfold as they were told, Alcorn knows where it leaves her in April - without a job, she said.
Alcorn understands the decision, she said, is just a business decision, and harbors no hard feelings toward Harman/Becker.
"I raised two kids on my own," she said. "They gave me employment for 21 years, which I really appreciate ... business isn't pretty."
Other departments probably will be reduced as well, she said.
"We're all in the same boat, whether you're hourly or salary," she said.
Alcorn, 40, said she knows that something better is coming her way as a result of the changes.
"I'm not scared," she said. "God's got something in mind for me.
"This puts Martinsville in a strain. Unemployment numbers will go up. Harman's what we've got ... Harman's been really good to me. These aren't bad people, but this is what happens."
The business move is less of an issue to employees than the way the company approaches the changes, Alcorn said. If the company offers voluntary resignations and those affected can collect unemployment, employees would be more understanding, she said. If the reduction of jobs is forced, there will be some hard feelings.
"I went in as a girl at 19, and I literally gave them the best years of my life," said Alcorn, who will soon be a grandmother. "I love the building, I love the people."
Greater Martinsville Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Jamie Thompson said the chamber would assist those affected by the job loss as best it can.
"It's a hit we'd hate to see," Thompson said. "The chamber would try to help those affected find jobs, hopefully in Morgan County. It may be too late, but we hope we can help the company in any way. We'll sit down with them and try to see if we can help."