Window and door systems maker Deceuninck North America LLC said April 15 it's cutting its workforce by 30 percent at its Monroe, Ohio, facility, in response to a sharp decline in orders, economic uncertainty and workplace requirements brought on by the coronavirus pandemic.
"Over the last few weeks, we have quickly entered a new reality, the duration of which is unclear," said President and CEO Filip Geeraert. "The new and unprecedented demands that social distancing and other protective measures have placed on our operations and facility management, combined with a severe decline in order intake, led us to take these actions."
The company's North American unit is based in Monroe, and it said that operations at its facility in Fernley, Nev., will not be impacted. On its website it said the Ohio plant is more than three times the size of the Nevada facility.
In the statement it said its 650 employees had planned for strong growth for 2020, but it said the cutbacks were made "swiftly based on the reduction in sales vs. the size of the organization and related cost structure."
Geeraert said the company anticipates demand to return: "As demand increases, we will again adjust our team and operations to handle the growth."
The company is part of Hooglede-Gits, Belgium-based Deceuninck Group, which makes PVC window systems and employs 3,600 worldwide.