The president of the union that represents Timken steelworkers said Wednesday that Timken has laid off at least 155 union employees at its Canton-area plants since mid-December.
“It’s gut-wrenching,” said Randy Feemster, president of Steelworkers Local 1123, who said the figure of about 250 he cited weeks ago was speculative at the time. “There’s a lot of grief. A lot of heartache. There’s a lot of suffering going on out here.”
Timken spokeswoman Lorrie Paul Crum said she could not confirm Feemster’s figure, but she said the company has laid off 115 hourly union employees from its Gambrinus, Harrison, Faircrest and Canton plants since the end of February. That’s on top of 2,500 Timken workers laid off worldwide in the 15-month period ending in January, and a planned global cut of up to 400 salaried positions.
Local workers were laid off due to a precipitous decline in demand for Timken’s products. The company expects its profits this year will be less than half of earnings in 2008, Crum said.
“That’s reflecting the widespread industrial recession we’ve seen and the fall-off in orders,” she said. “And fall-off in activity that our customers have experienced.”
Referring to the economy, Feemster said “the whole world is on fire.”
Under the union contract, the company has to bring back the laid-off workers in order of seniority should it expand its hourly work force. He said those who lost their jobs got about five-day layoff notices.
Feemster said one of the 155 was a man who was seriously hurt at the Gambrinus plant weeks ago when a steel tube rolled onto him. Recovering at Cleveland Metro Hospital, he now has no job, and his family no health insurance.
Feemster said it’s unclear how many more Timken steelworkers will lose their jobs.
“There’s a real concern out there. Uncertainty. Everyone there is fearful of going out and making a purchase,” said Feemster.
Already, some departments of the Gambrinus plant are set to be shut down from Saturday through March 28, said Crum. Although workers with at least two years of service would get supplemental pay that’s less than their typical income, Feemster is concerned there could be more such idling.
Crum said Timken has done what it can to avoid layoffs. She said the company has suspended merit pay increases for salaried staff and executives and is asking employees to take unpaid time off. Capital projects have been delayed.
“We’d rather keep people employed, but the reality we also face is we have to produce according to the demand that we have.”
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