GREENVILLE, PA. Werner Co. will cut jobs in manufacturing move

Hourly labor costs in Mexico are about $4, compared with $29 here.
By HAROLD GWIN
VINDICATOR SHARON BUREAU
GREENVILLE, Pa. -- The Werner Co. is moving part of its ladder production operation to Juarez, Mexico.
The company put out internal notices of its plans earlier this week and confirmed today that it will open a ladder parts manufacturing operation in Juarez by the end of the year.
The facility will employ about 50 people. Items produced there will be shipped to other Werner facilities in the United States for assembly.
The announcement didn't come as much of a surprise to Werner employees here.
The company had announced plans to move its ladder-making operation to other, lower cost facilities it operates in March.
Officials of United Steelworkers of America Local 3713-01, representing production workers at Werner, said at the time that they expected some of the operations to go to Mexico or overseas locations.
The company said at the time that hourly labor costs in Mexico were about $4 while the hourly labor cost at Greenville is $29.
Jobs lost
The company said in March that the move would result in the loss of 450 hourly and 50 salaried jobs at Greenville but that it would keep its headquarters and other manufacturing operations here, employing about 500 people. Those include remelt, aluminum extrusion, extruded products fabrication and fiberglass operations.
A company spokesman said today that 240 hourly workers have received permanent layoff notices so far, as have 13 salaried employees. He said 180 of those hourly workers were already under temporary layoff.
Those jobs went to Werner plants in Anniston, Ala., and Chicago, which have hourly labor costs of $18 and $21, respectively.
Total layoffs are still expected to reach the 500 figure, the spokesman said.