Adam Huening, Greensburg Daily News
The days of Delta Faucet's prominence as a major employer in Decatur County have come to end and likely will not return.
According to a press release from Delta's corporate office in Indianapolis, employees were informed today that the Greensburg facility will cease its brazing and assembly operations permanently. The operations, the main core for the local facility, will be moved to the newer plant in Jackson, Tenn. In all, 265 of the estimated 480 remaining employees will be out of job before the end of 2009. The phase out, according to the press release, will take six to seven months.
"The continuing housing slump and weak economic climate has forced us to look at all of our processes with an eye toward remaining competitive," said Rick Marshall, vice-president operations, Delta Faucet Company. "While this move will increase the workforce in Jackson, it will realize efficiencies related to centralizing operations. Decisions like these that affect people's lives are difficult, but we have to take the necessary steps to put our business in a position to compete effectively in this challenging market."
According to Paula Warner, Corporate Communications and Public Relations for Delta, the Greensburg reduction will be gradual as the departments are relocated.
"Each employee will receive at least 60 days notice of their termination date window; thus, no employees will be terminated from our payroll until late July," Warner said. "However, some employees will no longer be required to physically report to work after late-June."
Employees "who remain productive until their assigned release date" will receive a bonus, she noted. Various assistance will be provided and Delta will help employees with "continuing healthcare as well as employment services, job training and other available government programs."
"We will assist them in this transition as much as possible," she said.
She noted employees from Greensburg interested in a transfer to fill one of 200 new jobs to be created in Jackson would be welcomed to apply. Upon hire, the employee's seniority would remain.
The Greensburg plant, however, will not close entirely. Approximately 210 employees will remain as the local facility is transformed to handle finishing processes and machining operations only.
Even if operations that once placed it on the map will no longer exist after the end of the year, Warner stated Greensburg's doors will not close.
"We do not have a plan to close Greensburg; increased demand could increase the need for finishing and machining output from Greensburg if the housing and remodeling markets rebound. The marketplace requires us to regularly evaluate our structure and capacity to ensure our competitiveness," Warner said. "Indeed, this is a tough day for so many. We treasure the legacy of the Greensburg facility. During these unprecedented economic times, we have to face business realities and do what is best for the whole company, even when it requires making difficult decisions such as these."
The latest cut is perhaps the biggest in a litany of reductions beginning in early 2007. As that year began, Delta employed nearly 900 people. Since that time, several workforce reductions in the midst of a lagging housing market has diminished its numbers to the current level.
Delta is not the only employer in the region struggling. GECOM Corp., STI, and Valeo have all experienced lay offs, either temporary or permanent, in the recent year. The latest was an estimated 100 employees laid off from Valeo a few weeks ago. Regionally, Cummins Inc., one the state's largest employers, has continued to reduce its workforce by thousands globally due to the tumultuous automotive industry.