Volvo Group to lay off 200 at Hagerstown plant

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Herald Mail Media (Hagerstown) / December 15, 2015

About 200 workers at the Volvo Group Trucks plant in Hagerstown will be laid off during the first quarter of 2016 as the company faces a decline in demand for long-haul trucks, according to a company spokesman.

John Mies, vice president of communications for Volvo Group North America, said employees were notified Tuesday morning. The layoffs could begin as early as late January, he said.

"We regret having to take this action, but ... we do operate in a cyclical market, and we have to adapt to market demand," Mies said.

Plant spokeswoman Belinda Vinson said the company has a contractual obligation to notify all of the roughly 1,800 workers at the powertrain-manufacturing facility when a layoff is announced.

However, specific employees to be affected have yet to be determined, she said.

Mies described the jobs being cut as production positions. The company plans to assist laid-off workers with outplacement services in accordance with the union's bargaining agreement, he said.

The plant off Pennsylvania Avenue north of Hagerstown currently employs about 1,800 people.

"We value and appreciate our employees, and this is an unfortunate time," Pierre Jenny, vice president of operations at the Hagerstown plant, said in a statement.

Vinson said some employees are eligible for voluntary layoffs, which would enable them to still receive certain benefits over the duration of a specified period.

Company officials have contacted the Washington County Department of Business Development and the state to assist laid-off workers with identifying current needs in the county and other employment opportunities, Vinson said.