Gates Corporation will lay off approximately 80 employees from its Iola plant by the end of the year.
The layoffs account for about 30% of the Iola facility’s workforce, reports Camille Lavon, economic director of Thrive Allen County.
Lavon has been in direct communication with Gates executives since Thursday, when employees were notified.
All of the layoffs are in the production part of the plant, Lavon said, noting that the layoffs primarily affect one of three manufacturing divisions in the facility.
The remaining workers within the distribution and warehouse parts of the plant are continuing to work full-time to meet high demand, she said.
The initial plan is for 70 of the 80 furloughed workers to stop working on Dec. 1; the remaining 10 will be let go Jan. 1, Lavon said.
Repeated attempts to contact multiple Gates officials for comment have been unsuccessful.
According to KSNT News of Topeka, the plant is removing its hydraulics flexible mandrel (HFM) division, which manufactures automotive hoses.
“This reduction will be primarily attributable to the complete cessation of HFM manufacturing operations at the site, though a few unrelated positions will be reduced as well,” the company was quoted in the KSNT article. “This action is intended to be permanent. No other operations at the site will be impacted at this time.”
Lavon has deployed a “rapid response” program to provide immediate support to companies and affected employees dealing with job losses.
A job fair already is in the works for the affected employees, Lavon said, which will include the Kansas Department of Commerce, Kansas Works and other large manufacturing facilities in the area.
The job fair is tentatively scheduled for sometime in November.
“Kansas Works is moving aggressively and fast to support these great workers in an attempt to ensure they stay in the community,” Lavon said.
GATES RUBBER Company opened its doors in Iola in 1976.
The original plant was 230,000 square feet, before another 80,000-square foot addition was built two years later. Another massive addition followed in the late 1990s.
Today, the physical plant covers 425,000 square feet.
