Osram Sylvania has announced plans to restructure its Glass Technologies operations, cutting 250 jobs — more than 71 percent of its workforce — at its plant in Central Falls. The plan will occur in phases over the next two years, and involves the move of soda lime glass production out of its Central Falls facility.
Glass production for fluorescent lamps would be transferred from Central Falls to the company’s primary fluorescent glass plant in Versailles, Ky., and glass manufacturing for incandescent lamps would move to Osram Sylvania’s main incandescent glass plant in Wellsboro, Pa.
Seifert Systems Invests in Energy Efficiency to Strengthen Operations
For manufacturers, energy is more than just another operating expense. It plays a critical role…
Learn More
The fluorescent and incandescent glass moves would affect about 250 hourly and salaried jobs in Central Falls, leaving up to 100 hourly and salaried employees at the facility for HID hard-glass manufacturing,
depending on demand for these products. The plan calls for separations to be done in phases. About one-third of the impacted jobs would be eliminated by December 2002, with the remainder of the reductions scheduled to occur in the fall of 2003.
The Central Falls plant would continue to produce its other primary product, borosilicate glass, for high-intensity discharge (HID) lamps.
“Developing a plan to consolidate our glass operations was a difficult decision and obviously a big disappointment for our people in Rhode Island,” said Asahel Parmelee, executive vice president and general manager of the company’s worldwide Precision Materials & Components division. “We regret the hardship involved, and we will strive to minimize the impact on our employees as much as possible. We notified our employees today (Jan. 8) and we will meet with the American Flint Glass Workers Union, which represents the hourly workforce, to discuss the proposed plan. . .Rapid and dramatic change in the global marketplace for our glass business over the last three years has resulted in significant underutilization of Osram Sylvania’s three North American glass plants.”
These plants make glass in different sizes and compositions, primarily for lighting products sold by Osram Sylvania and other lighting manufacturers. Parmelee said that lower-than-projected demand for finished lamps, consolidations in the lamp-making industry and the importation of lamps manufactured outside of the United States have contributed to the current situation.
Jeff Hoffman, vice president and general manager of the company’s Glass Technologies division said, “This plan is necessary to resolve significant underutilization issues at our three glass plants.”
Currently, each glass plant is operating at about 70 percent of its capacity.
