Manchester Metals Plant Closure Idles 95 Workers
April 26, 2018 at 6:04 p.m.
NORTH MANCHESTER – Workers at Manchester Metals, 205 Wabash Road, North Manchester, were notified Wednesday the plant was closing at the end of the day and told not to report to work today.
The business was established in 1911, according to the company’s website. The plant made a variety of metal products, from manhole covers to parts for parking meters.
North Manchester Town Manager Adam Penrod said he began hearing things regarding the plant closure via word of mouth around 2 p.m. Wednesday.
He said he contacted officials with Northeast Indiana Works, who in turn contacted a human resources person with the plant, and that unnamed human resources official verified 95 people were let go. Penrod said his contact told him the reason that the company was unable to continue to operate was due to financial issues.
Penrod said the town had yet to hear anything directly from company officials.
A Facebook post, since deleted, stated the same thing Penrod said. A search of the company name on the social media site had a number of people commenting on the situation but nothing from the company itself.
Eric Cavins, Wabash, was a crane operator at the company. He said he clocked in at 5 a.m. Wednesday for a 10-hour shift, which he and his co-workers had been putting in since January.
“I went on my lunch break at 11:30, and I heard people talking about some sort of layoff. The grinding room wasn’t keeping up with parts in production, and so I didn’t think nothing of it, I just thought we’d shut down for the rest of the week to give the grinding room a chance to get caught up so we can get the money we’ve actually made doing these four months,” Cavins said. “We can’t send the product out to the customers if they’re not ground yet.
“After I came back from lunch, I called my supervisor’s office and said, ‘Hey, what’s up??I heard everybody’s getting laid off.’ And he said, ‘Yeah, we’re having a company-wide layoff, and I need you to clock out. Call me this weekend and I’ll let you know what’s going on.’ So I clocked out a little after noon.
“I came home not thinking too much of it, thinking it’d just be a couple of days, and then on Facebook I see all these posts saying the plant is shut down.
“I even saw a post from my supervisor saying ‘109 years in business and the plant closed in a quick second. I’m praying for all the families of the workers, hoping they can find jobs quickly.’
“I just think it’s kind of ridiculous that I think I’m taking off a couple of days, then I find out on social media the plant is actually closed.”
The Times-Union searched the State of Indiana’s website for required Workers Adjustment and Retraining Notification filings and found none from Manchester Metals as of late this morning.
Penrod said the town would work with Northeast Indiana Works to get unemployment and new hiring information to former Manchester Metals employees as soon as possible, and that the media would be notified.
NORTH MANCHESTER – Workers at Manchester Metals, 205 Wabash Road, North Manchester, were notified Wednesday the plant was closing at the end of the day and told not to report to work today.
The business was established in 1911, according to the company’s website. The plant made a variety of metal products, from manhole covers to parts for parking meters.
North Manchester Town Manager Adam Penrod said he began hearing things regarding the plant closure via word of mouth around 2 p.m. Wednesday.
He said he contacted officials with Northeast Indiana Works, who in turn contacted a human resources person with the plant, and that unnamed human resources official verified 95 people were let go. Penrod said his contact told him the reason that the company was unable to continue to operate was due to financial issues.
Penrod said the town had yet to hear anything directly from company officials.
A Facebook post, since deleted, stated the same thing Penrod said. A search of the company name on the social media site had a number of people commenting on the situation but nothing from the company itself.
Eric Cavins, Wabash, was a crane operator at the company. He said he clocked in at 5 a.m. Wednesday for a 10-hour shift, which he and his co-workers had been putting in since January.
“I went on my lunch break at 11:30, and I heard people talking about some sort of layoff. The grinding room wasn’t keeping up with parts in production, and so I didn’t think nothing of it, I just thought we’d shut down for the rest of the week to give the grinding room a chance to get caught up so we can get the money we’ve actually made doing these four months,” Cavins said. “We can’t send the product out to the customers if they’re not ground yet.
“After I came back from lunch, I called my supervisor’s office and said, ‘Hey, what’s up??I heard everybody’s getting laid off.’ And he said, ‘Yeah, we’re having a company-wide layoff, and I need you to clock out. Call me this weekend and I’ll let you know what’s going on.’ So I clocked out a little after noon.
“I came home not thinking too much of it, thinking it’d just be a couple of days, and then on Facebook I see all these posts saying the plant is shut down.
“I even saw a post from my supervisor saying ‘109 years in business and the plant closed in a quick second. I’m praying for all the families of the workers, hoping they can find jobs quickly.’
“I just think it’s kind of ridiculous that I think I’m taking off a couple of days, then I find out on social media the plant is actually closed.”
The Times-Union searched the State of Indiana’s website for required Workers Adjustment and Retraining Notification filings and found none from Manchester Metals as of late this morning.
Penrod said the town would work with Northeast Indiana Works to get unemployment and new hiring information to former Manchester Metals employees as soon as possible, and that the media would be notified.