Raymond going to a 4-day work week
GREENE – The county’s largest employer will be moving to a four-day work week as an alternative to large scale layoffs, according to a company representative.
“The current economic conditions have caught up with our industry,” said Steve VanNostrand, vice president of human resources for The Raymond Corporation.
While Raymond continues to gain market share in the material handling industry, the size of the overall pie is shrinking, he explained. “Total demand in the marketplace has dropped in the last couple of months.”
The company is seeking assistance from the New York State Department of Labor’s Shared Work program to mitigate the impact on employees. Workers will see a pay cut due to their decreased hours, but at least a portion of that will be replaced by unemployment compensation if Raymond’s application is approved by the state.
According to Charles Masciola, the NYS Department of Labor’s senior counselor for the Southern Tier, the program is designed to “bridge a gap in production.”
“It’s really a lay-off diversion strategy,” he explained, which allows workers to keep their jobs during an economic downturn.
Specific benefits are determined on an individual basis but, as a general rule, workers will receive a higher of their full-time compensation than they would if they had to depend solely on unemployment.
All employees who could be affected by the change have been notified, reported Van VanNostrand. His staff is meeting with small groups of those workers to make sure all of their questions are answered going forward.
“We have very bright, well-educated employees,” said VanNostrand. “They view this as a positive action, and much better than the alternative.”
One of the benefits of the Shared Work program is that it ensures workers keep their full-time benefits despite the cut in hours.
Moving to the four-day work week will also make it easier for the company to respond when the economy rebounds, VanNostrand explained. It will take less time for production to return to full manufacturing capacity on some or all of their lines than with layoffs.
“We are confident in our industry and in our company,” said VanNostrand. They will continue to “aggressively pursue” opportunities for sales and increasing their share of the market, he added.
Jan. 5 has been set as the tentative date of the change, but is contingent on the approval of the Department of Labor. VanNostrand reported that it is likely the slow down will continue at least until the end of January, but declined to speculate further. Exactly which employees will see cuts in hours has not been determined.
“We’re evaluating this on an ongoing basis,” he said.
This is not the first time the electric lift truck manufacturer has taken advantage of the Shared Work program. According to VanNostrand, they used it “quite successfully” in 2002 during the post 9/11 economic downturn.
The Raymond Corporation, founded in Greene in 1922, has been a subsidiary of Toyota Industries since 2000. The company signed a joint development agreement earlier this year with Ballard Power Systems to study the applications of zero-emission hydrogen fuel cell technology.
“The current economic conditions have caught up with our industry,” said Steve VanNostrand, vice president of human resources for The Raymond Corporation.
While Raymond continues to gain market share in the material handling industry, the size of the overall pie is shrinking, he explained. “Total demand in the marketplace has dropped in the last couple of months.”
The company is seeking assistance from the New York State Department of Labor’s Shared Work program to mitigate the impact on employees. Workers will see a pay cut due to their decreased hours, but at least a portion of that will be replaced by unemployment compensation if Raymond’s application is approved by the state.
According to Charles Masciola, the NYS Department of Labor’s senior counselor for the Southern Tier, the program is designed to “bridge a gap in production.”
“It’s really a lay-off diversion strategy,” he explained, which allows workers to keep their jobs during an economic downturn.
Specific benefits are determined on an individual basis but, as a general rule, workers will receive a higher of their full-time compensation than they would if they had to depend solely on unemployment.
All employees who could be affected by the change have been notified, reported Van VanNostrand. His staff is meeting with small groups of those workers to make sure all of their questions are answered going forward.
“We have very bright, well-educated employees,” said VanNostrand. “They view this as a positive action, and much better than the alternative.”
One of the benefits of the Shared Work program is that it ensures workers keep their full-time benefits despite the cut in hours.
Moving to the four-day work week will also make it easier for the company to respond when the economy rebounds, VanNostrand explained. It will take less time for production to return to full manufacturing capacity on some or all of their lines than with layoffs.
“We are confident in our industry and in our company,” said VanNostrand. They will continue to “aggressively pursue” opportunities for sales and increasing their share of the market, he added.
Jan. 5 has been set as the tentative date of the change, but is contingent on the approval of the Department of Labor. VanNostrand reported that it is likely the slow down will continue at least until the end of January, but declined to speculate further. Exactly which employees will see cuts in hours has not been determined.
“We’re evaluating this on an ongoing basis,” he said.
This is not the first time the electric lift truck manufacturer has taken advantage of the Shared Work program. According to VanNostrand, they used it “quite successfully” in 2002 during the post 9/11 economic downturn.
The Raymond Corporation, founded in Greene in 1922, has been a subsidiary of Toyota Industries since 2000. The company signed a joint development agreement earlier this year with Ballard Power Systems to study the applications of zero-emission hydrogen fuel cell technology.
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