SMITHFIELD – Honeywell International Inc. is laying off nearly 500 workers at its manufacturing plant here as it stops local production of N95 face masks, according to company spokesman Eric Krantz.
Krantz confirmed in an email to Providence Business News on Wednesday that the company had notified about 470 workers earlier that day about the layoffs. The cuts come amid decreasing demand for the N95 respirator masks, which the company had ramped up manufacturing for at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, including at its Smithfield location where it brought on 500 workers in March 2020.
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“We are now seeing a dramatic reduction in demand for N95s in the U.S., as many states are ending or scaling back mask mandates and vaccinations are being widely distributed,” Krantz said. “For these reasons, Honeywell is adjusting its N95 operations and ceasing manual production of N95s at our facility in Smithfield, R.I.”
Eligible workers will be offered severance policies and encouraged to apply for other jobs within the company, Krantz said.
A federal law known as the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act requires companies with more than 100 workers to give at least 60 days of public notice for plant closings or mass layoffs.
The R.I. Department of Labor and Training confirmed it had received the WARN notice Wednesday afternoon. According to what DLT posted online, Honeywell will lay off 463 workers on July 23.
The Smithfield plant will continue to make safety glasses and other eye protection, products that were manufactured prior to the pandemic, Krantz said.
Honeywell is headquartered in Charlotte, N.C.
(Update: Adds sixth paragraph to include R.I. Department of Labor and Training’s confirmation that it received Honeywell’s WARN notice.)
Nancy Lavin is a PBN staff writer. You may reach her at Lavin@PBN.com.
