Honeywell Nylon to implement voluntary layoffs at Anderson plant

The Anderson Independent-Mail ^ | June 20, 2003 | Wendy Weinhold

[Willie Green]

For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use.

Poor market conditions in the nylon business and increased competition from foreign imports were blamed for layoffs planned in the coming weeks at an Anderson textile manufacturing plant.

Honeywell Nylon, which took over the BASF nylon plant last month, asked 103 workers to leave voluntarily earlier this week, Honeywell Nylon Director of Operations Ed Donnelly said Friday.

An outdated, labor-intensive production process used at the plant will be terminated and the plant will bulk up production on the remaining single-step process line to bring greater efficiency and cost effectiveness to its practices.

Honeywell will shut down its multi-step production line in an effort to bring textile operations up to date at the Anderson plant, said Mr. Donnelly, who is the former BASF plant manager.

"We´re going to retrench back to our most efficient, most cost-effective practices," Mr. Donnelly said. "This number should get us close to where we need to be to maintain the production we need and to go forward."

Company officials expect to better know how many people will volunteer for the layoff by early next week. If 103 people do not come forward, the company will have to let some workers go, Mr. Donnelly said.

Plant Manager Alan Oxendine, who came to Anderson Monday from a Honeywell plant in Richmond, Va., said the employees have a lot to consider in the coming days.

"It´s difficult for all of us here," he said.

The layoffs should begin in the first part of July, and the full reduction should be complete by mid-August. Workers who leave voluntarily receive a severance pay package.

"If somebody was thinking about retiring or leaving, they may think of this as a golden opportunity," he said. "It´s a whole lot easier on the morale of an organization if people will volunteer to leave."

He attributed the production line shut down to the "onslaught" of fabrics and garments flooding the United States from Asia.

"It happened so suddenly," said Mr. Donnelly. "If you´d asked me six months ago did I see this coming, I would have said, ‘No.´"

Approximately 600 workers will remain at the plant, which under BASF ownership employed more than 750 people a year ago.

Mr. Donnelly declined to predict the future of the plant but said he does not expect more layoffs to come. Although he said last month that no employment changes or layoffs were expected when the BASF plant changed hands to Honeywell, he said Friday that the company must strive to stay successful in an increasingly difficult textile market.

Wendy Weinhold can be reached at (864) 260-1248 or by e-mail at weinholdwm@IndependentMail.com

[Willie Green]

You only receive severance if you volunteer to quit?

What kind of deal is that?