
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, March 24, 1995                   TAG: 9503240106
SECTION: CURRENT                    PAGE: NRV-2   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: STEPHEN FOSTER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: FAIRLAWN                                LENGTH: Short

ARSENAL TO IDLE 26 WORKERS

Twenty-six workers at the Radford Army Ammunition Plant were told this week that their jobs would be eliminated, the plant confirmed Thursday.

Charles Lee said the seven salaried and 19 wage-earning employees were notified Monday that they would be laid off in the next few weeks as part of "our continuing efforts to right-size."

Lee, director of human resources at the plant run by Alliant Techsystems, said the layoffs were not connected to Alliant's purchase of Hercules' aerospace division, which had run the arsenal since World War II.

The arsenal employs 1,362 employees, the lowest level of employment since 1950.

Alliant, headquartered in Hopkins, Minn., took over operation of the U.S. Army-owned arsenal on March 16 after purchasing Hercules' aerospace operations at the arsenal and seven other plants for $296 million and 3.86 million shares of Alliant stock.

The local union president said then that the arsenal, which has laid off more than 1,000 workers in three years, probably would have to do more trimming of its work force before things got better.

Michael Smith, head of the Local 3-495 of the Oil, Chemical and Atomic Workers International Union, spoke optimistically of the future with Alliant's takeover of the arsenal and a facilities' contract that could bring more contractors with diversified product lines to the plant.

But Smith, who could not be reached Thursday, said "there is a chance of [layoffs] throughout the year 1995."

That chance - although not in the realm of 170-, 230-, or even 700-worker layoffs seen in past years - played out again this week.

by CNB