The Timken Company (USA: NYSE: TKR) said it has laid off approximately 20 of the 135 workers at its New Philadelphia Bearing Plant in Ohio.

New Philadelphia manufactures precision bearings, primarily for the aircraft and aerospace market.

Long considered at least somewhat sheltered from the global economic slowdown, aircraft / aerospace has recently been showing signs of long-term weakness.

Of the 20 laid off, 12 were contract workers let go in January, and no contract workers remain. The other eight were direct Timken employees, given severance pay.

A Timken spokeswoman said: "Unfortunately, it is an indefinite layoff because we don't have any indication at this point when demand would be expected to come back. While the number affected isn't as severe as you have seen elsewhere, we don't take it lightly when we are forced to put anyone out of work."

She went on to say: "As in all of our facilities, we have taken steps to minimize the magnitude and number of associates affected, including shortening work hours and cutting spending to align with the broad-based, sharp declines in demand we're experiencing."

New Philadelphia is one of just four U.S. manufacturing and service locations for Timken Aerospace, and one of seven worldwide. Because aircraft and aerospace sales are slow to fall in an economic decline and slow to pick back up again in a recovery, most analysts believe that market will continue to decline through 2009 and well into 2010 -- weakness and potential for more layoffs in the months ahead.

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