Posted on 10/11/2012 9:11:15 PM PDT by Perseverando
The military contractor said cuts by the government necessitated the reductions.
More than 200 hourly employees at the ITT Exelis facility in Roanoke County were laid off with about two weeks' notice Thursday, according to a company spokesman.
It was not an entirely unexpected move by the company, which manufactures night vision goggles, monoculars and related gear and is a major supplier for the U.S. armed forces.
"Due to anticipated U.S. defense government procurement reductions, we have experienced an impact on the size and frequency of night vision contracts," communications director Jared Adams said in a news release last week. "This impact has resulted in a need for the Exelis Roanoke facility to adjust production capacity and employee headcounts."
Thursday's statement was more specific.
"Today, 201 hourly employees based in Roanoke were notified that they will be affected by this reduction in force," spokeswoman Mary Dudley wrote in an email.
Dudley said employees received notice that their last workday will be Oct. 26. She said the reductions were done by seniority across the facility.
Emails to officers of Local 82162 of the International Union of Electronic/Communications Workers of America, which represents workers at the plant, were not immediately returned Thursday.
Total employment at the Plantation Road facility last week was about 1,070. About 435 of those positions are salaried.
ITT Exelis, which until last year was known as ITT Night Vision, is one of Roanoke County's three largest private employers, along with Wells Fargo Operations Center and Allstate Insurance Cos. Employment at each company ranges from 1,000 to 2,999 workers, according to the Virginia Employment Commission. It's unclear whether ITT Exelis' recent reductions will affect its ranking within the county.
The facility laid off about 300 workers in January. In February, ITT Exelis was awarded an $11.1 million contract for more than 8,000 tubes used in night vision goggles — the company's largest order for the components under the Army's OMNI VIII program — but ITT representatives said at the time that would not require them to recall workers.
ITT Exelis is hiring aggressively in their Rocky Mtn location. Might be a regional issue.
Will they have a going out of business sale? I could sure use some night vision goggles.
this is related to the warn act and that spending in 2013 is going to be reduced. They have had a few layoffs already as they saw the writing on the wall last year.
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