GREENVILLE — The circumstances and effects of COVID-19 has created a lot of uncertainties, wrote Diane Friend, Human Resource Manager for both Greenville Technology Inc. (GTI) and Moriroku-North America (MTNA) in a recent email exchange.
At the end of last month, a WARN (Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification) notice was given on the implementation of a temporary layoff for an unknown duration.
The announcement was the result of the continued unforeseen circumstances associated with the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic with well over a million cases around the world and nearly 90,000 deaths as of Thursday, April 9.
The layoff announcement, which includes local GTI and its Anderson, Ind. location, as well as MTNA located in Marysville, was followed by the State of Ohio’s Governor, Mike DeWine, instituting a stay at home order for all people and non-essential businesses.
The layoff also affected temporary employees at the Greenville and Anderson locations who are employed through First Call Staffing in Anderson, per the notice.
WARN generally requires a company with over 100 employees to provide, at minimum, a 60-day notice of closure or mass layoffs, with a few exceptions. The sudden and unexpected nature of COVID-19, along with the timing of DeWine’s mandated shutdown, are exceptions.
Similar to other businesses, Friend shared that “GTI is making every attempt to keep our employees safe by following CDC requirements and guidelines.”
Friend further explained that some GTI salaried staff had been furloughed with the plant operating on a minimal skeleton crew and salaried staff working from home. For operations that must continue, limitations have been put in place, and social distancing practices are being followed.
All locations have gone through a deep clean that included disinfecting and sanitizing, writes Friend, especially in common areas such as restrooms, cafeteria, and locker rooms.
Generally, GTI shuts down over the Fourth of July holiday, which Friend anticipates will be a normal process.
“GTI’s primary concern continues to be the safety and well-being of our associates, their families, and our communities,” continued Friend. “We look forward to reuniting with our associates and resuming normal production as soon as it is safe to do so.”
According to the WARN notice, 535 hourly-paid workers were temporarily laid off at GTI with five hourly laid off at MTNA.
The effective date of the temporary employee layoffs was March 23.
