PDM Bridge laying off workers temporarily

Ran on Friday, July 13, 2007

PDM Bridge laying off workers temporarily

By Keighla Schmidt
Leader-Telegram staff

A delay in the design of a Columbus, Ohio, bridge has led a steel production company in Eau Claire to lay off 25 of its local workers.
PDM Bridge announced it must temporarily lay off 10 percent of its Eau Claire workforce, effective Monday, because there is no work to be done.
Jeffrey Remsik, a spokesman for PDM, said the company has waited as long as possible to lay off the employees, but bridge designers have delayed the project six months, making it impossible for the company to currently employ the workers.
"We're simply forced to make layoffs because we don't have work for them to do," Remsik said.
Company officials are unsure how long the layoffs will last but anticipate it will be several weeks. They say the length will be dependent upon the resolution of the engineering issues in Columbus.
"We do not know how long it will take to resolve the engineering issues," said Phil Hoilien, plant manager at PDM's Eau Claire facility, in a statement. "But we will call our employees back to work as soon as possible."
The company will ask employees to voluntarily take time off; if not enough workers step forward, cuts will be made based on seniority.
Remsik said he thinks some of the employees, most of whom have been with the company for 15 to 20 years, will voluntarily take time off to work on projects at home or enjoy the summer months.
PDM has not had layoffs in the past 14 years and typically works on 10 to 15 projects at once.
The layoffs will not affect other projects the company is working on, Remsik said.
"Our business is strong," Hoilien said. "We continue to actively bid for new projects. We plan to continue our growth in the months and years ahead."
PDM employs 500 people in its three plants in Eau Claire, Wausau and Palatka, Fla. Neither of the others will have layoffs and will not be affected by the layoffs at the Eau Claire plant.