The Holland Sentinel newspaper reports that in the latest round of layoffs at the city of Holland’s largest employer, Johnson Controls Inc. employees learned Thursday that 350 salaried jobs would be eliminated from the company’s operations in Holland and two other Michigan locations.
The jobs will be eliminated by Nov. 1 from facilities in Holland, Plymouth and Warren, the report said.
“It’s definitely demoralising,” said one JCI employee in the Holland industrial design division who asked not to be named.
However, the report added that JCI spokesman William Dawson said the company has secured a new product contract that will bring 200 new manufacturing jobs next year to Holland. He did not elaborate on the nature of the new jobs.
The cuts will include administrative, managerial, engineering and technical positions, but specific employees have not been identified, Dawson said.
The announcement comes seven months after JCI announced that 885 hourly workers in Holland would lose their jobs when the company’s visor production is moved to Mexico. Dawson said that those job losses have not yet taken effect.
Dawson said a variety of economic factors contributed to the company’s decision, including rising steel, oil and other supply costs, increases in health care costs and an increasingly competitive environment.
Employees said Thursday they were told that if this round of cuts does not save enough money, more jobs could be lost by December.
