Wabash Valley Confirms Closure To State
November 18, 2020 at 2:51 a.m.
Wabash Valley Confirms Closure To State
By David [email protected]
According to the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN), 80 workers will be affected at the furniture and related product manufacturing business. The notice was filed Nov. 11 and the layoff/closure date is March 19.
A letter from Rob Blakley, vice president of EZ Dock and Wabash Valley, to the Indiana Department of Workforce Development and Silver Lake Council President Chad Miner dated Nov. 11, states, “We are writing to inform you that, in large part due to the unforeseen, direct and significant impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our business operations, the Wabash Valley manufacturing facility at 505 E. Main St., Silver Lake, will be permanently closing. We expect the last day of operations to be on or around April 7, 2021.”
The letter states the company will lay off approximately 80 employees from the facility. “We expect the first separation to occur during the 14-day period beginning Jan. 15, 2021, with the separations of all remaining employees at the facility to occur during the 14-day periods beginning Feb. 15, 2021, and March 19, 2021,” the letter states. “There are no employees represented by a bargaining unit at this facility, and as a result, there are no bumping rights. All affected employees have been notified.”
The announcement is based on the best information currently available, according to the letter. “However, various factors may still affect the timing of any employment separations. You will be informed of any significant changes in these plans, as additional information becomes available.”
The letter states the company appreciates any support or assistance that can be provided to help employees affected by the plant closing in finding new positions.
Of the 80 workers being laid off, 13 are powder coating line workers, 15 are welders, eight are CNC machine operators, six are vinyl coating line workers and the other categories range from CAD engineer and dock workers to plant manager and sales coordinator.
?The Times-Union first reported Wabash Valley was closing its doors in the Nov. 6 story on the Silver Lake Town Council meeting. At that Nov. 5 meeting, Councilman Hugh Murfin told the rest of the Council that he had heard Wabash Valley was closing its doors by April and going to Alabama. The WARN does not indicate the company is moving.
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According to the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN), 80 workers will be affected at the furniture and related product manufacturing business. The notice was filed Nov. 11 and the layoff/closure date is March 19.
A letter from Rob Blakley, vice president of EZ Dock and Wabash Valley, to the Indiana Department of Workforce Development and Silver Lake Council President Chad Miner dated Nov. 11, states, “We are writing to inform you that, in large part due to the unforeseen, direct and significant impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our business operations, the Wabash Valley manufacturing facility at 505 E. Main St., Silver Lake, will be permanently closing. We expect the last day of operations to be on or around April 7, 2021.”
The letter states the company will lay off approximately 80 employees from the facility. “We expect the first separation to occur during the 14-day period beginning Jan. 15, 2021, with the separations of all remaining employees at the facility to occur during the 14-day periods beginning Feb. 15, 2021, and March 19, 2021,” the letter states. “There are no employees represented by a bargaining unit at this facility, and as a result, there are no bumping rights. All affected employees have been notified.”
The announcement is based on the best information currently available, according to the letter. “However, various factors may still affect the timing of any employment separations. You will be informed of any significant changes in these plans, as additional information becomes available.”
The letter states the company appreciates any support or assistance that can be provided to help employees affected by the plant closing in finding new positions.
Of the 80 workers being laid off, 13 are powder coating line workers, 15 are welders, eight are CNC machine operators, six are vinyl coating line workers and the other categories range from CAD engineer and dock workers to plant manager and sales coordinator.
?The Times-Union first reported Wabash Valley was closing its doors in the Nov. 6 story on the Silver Lake Town Council meeting. At that Nov. 5 meeting, Councilman Hugh Murfin told the rest of the Council that he had heard Wabash Valley was closing its doors by April and going to Alabama. The WARN does not indicate the company is moving.
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