Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, March 6, 1993 TAG: 9303060346
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY NOTE:
SOURCE: ROBERT FREIS STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: FAIRLAWN LENGTH: Medium
ARSENAL ROCKED AGAIN
LAYOFFS caused by last month's explosion at the Radford arsenal are shaking the New River Valley's economy.\ An explosion last month that destroyed part of the Radford Army Ammunition plant has blown another 350 workers out their jobs.
Hercules, Inc., operator of the arsenal, announced Friday the plant's work force will be reduced by 17 percent, to 1,676 - its lowest employment level since the late 1940s - because of the Feb. 16 blast.
This announcement accelerates the downsizing and conversion of operations at the arsenal, where 735 workers lost their jobs earlier this year. More than 1,600 workers have been laid off in the past two years.
The explosion, which destroyed an automated 900-square-foot nitroglycerin storehouse, has "changed the reckoning" of the plant's immediate future, said Rep. Rick Boucher, D-Abingdon.
Arsenal officials are concerned that production cannot be resumed safely until a cause of the explosion is determined, he said.
The plant has stockpiled enough nitroglycerin products to handle declining orders until production is resumed later this year, said Nicole Kinser, the plant's public affairs officer.
Also, the new layoffs are influenced by the plant's efforts to automate and enhance safety by decreasing the number of workers who manually produce nitroglycerin, she said.
"It's not good news," Kinser said of the lastest layoffs. "Everyone here is keenly aware of the economic impact. The army needs fewer soldiers. With fewer soldiers, you need less ammunition."
Boucher said Friday's announcement underscored the need to obtain commercial contracts for the arsenal or manufacturing orders for the armies of other nations. He said 10 companies have expressed interest in using the arsenal.
Of the 350 to be laid off, 290 will be hourly workers and 60 will be salaried employees. Some of them were among 300 workers temporarily furloughed last week because of the blast.
All of the arsenal's unsalaried workers were told earlier this week they must take five days of unpaid leave monthly because production has decreased significantly because of the explosion.
Wage employees will be let go immediately, while a bumping process driven by seniority may keep some of the salaried workers on the job for more than three weeks, Kinser said.
Military cutbacks continue to mean gloomy economic news for the New River Valley, which has relied on the arsenal as a major employer for 52 years.
At its peak during World War II, the arsenal employed about 10,000 people.
The cause of the accident continues to be investigated. No one was injured, although the blast was loud enough to be heard miles away.
Memo: ***CORRECTION***