AM I NEXT? NO LOVE AT NEW YORK AIR BRAKE

Watertown, New York-based New York Air Brake, a manufacturer of air brake and train control systems for the railroad industry, will be implementing a realignment strategy for its North American manufacturing operations.

The changes will initially impact 125 Watertown employees commencing with 50 to 60 layoffs commencing in January 2022 and the remainder in March 2022.

The realignment decision was driven by the need to move production and assembly closer to customers, with "70% of the company's OEM clients are producing railcarS in Mexico, and that number continues to climb."

As part of the realignment, operations at three North American locations in Salisbury, North Carolina, Nixa, Missouri, and Kansas City, Missouri will be transitioned to Acuña, Mexico by the end of 2022.

According to President and CEO, Ulisses Camilo, “New York Air Brake is a global company operating in an ever-changing global marketplace. Throughout our history, this business has successfully evolved its manufacturing approach to better serve our customers. Our strategic direction for manufacturing has long been to capitalize on our locations and core competencies, always aiming to align production closer to the point of final assembly."

Change is coming. There will always be a tomorrow, no matter how much you may try to ignore it. There are no guarantees in life or promises for a bright future. Just because something bad hasn't happened yet, doesn't mean it won't. It can happen to anyone, anytime, anywhere. No one is guaranteed to wake up tomorrow and still have a job by evening. Are you now wondering, Am I Next?

AM I NEXT? ROCK ISLAND ARSENAL - JMTC

Rock Island, Illinois-based Rock Island Arsenal, a major Army installation that is the home to more than 80 tenant organizations that provide critical products and services to all of our Armed Services, has announced layoffs at its Joint Manufacturing and Technology Center (JMTC)which provides advanced metals manufacturing for the U.S. Army and Department of Defense systems globally.

The layoffs will impact up to 174 term personnel commencing October 1, 2021, through September 2022, including 111 employees on October 24, 2021.

According to a spokesperson, “The ebb and flow of our workload and the diverse composition of our workforce enables Rock Island Arsenal – Joint Manufacturing and Technology Center the ability to reduce or surge personnel to meet mission requirements. We must constantly evaluate our workforce and workload ratios to ensure we remain fiscally responsible to our taxpayers. The decision to reduce our workforce is difficult but necessary to support the sustainability of the factory. RIA-JMTC is posturing itself for the future and working toward modernization in support of the Army’s future needs.”

Change is coming. There will always be a tomorrow, no matter how much you may try to ignore it. There are no guarantees in life or promises for a bright future. Just because something bad hasn't happened yet, doesn't mean it won't. It can happen to anyone, anytime, anywhere. No one is guaranteed to wake up tomorrow and still have a job by evening. Are you now wondering, Am I Next?

AM I NEXT? NO LOVE AT FUJIFILM MANUFACTURING USA

Greenwood, South Carolina-based Fujifilm Manufacturing U.S.A. , a division of Tokyo, Japan-based Fujifilm, the Japanese multinational conglomerate, has announced the consolidation of four ot of five manufacturing facilities located in Greenwood, South Carolina.

The plants produce products such as QuickSnap recyclable cameras, inkjet photographic paper, color photographic paper, and digital printing plates.

The consolidation will impact 400 employees and will be completed by September 2022. The company will relocate its manufacturing to other company facilities or outsouce a portion of the work to third parties.

According to Fujifilm President Todd Croker, “The impact of COVID-19 on our respective businesses reinforced to us that we need to be even more focused on enhancing our capabilities to serve our customers from different manufacturing and distribution points throughout the world. This change provides us with more operating flexibility, and ensures that we are optimizing use of our available manufacturing capacity. Market economic trends and a declining demand for many of the products manufactured in Greenwood challenged us to focus on how we adapt our efforts to continue to build a global, sustainable approach for Fujifilm.”

Change is coming. There will always be a tomorrow, no matter how much you may try to ignore it. There are no guarantees in life or promises for a bright future. Just because something bad hasn't happened yet, doesn't mean it won't. It can happen to anyone, anytime, anywhere. No one is guaranteed to wake up tomorrow and still have a job by evening. Are you now wondering, Am I Next?