ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, June 27, 1996 TAG: 9606270044
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B-8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JEFF STURGEON STAFF WRITER
DuPont's Martinsville nylon plant probably will be forced to close within three years, its general manager told 600 employees who would face layoffs.
The Wilmington, Del., company has reached a preliminary conclusion that the plant will be driven out of business by lower-priced foreign-made nylon, once tariff cuts contained in global trade agreements take effect, General Manager John Winske said Wednesday.
The loss of the jobs, which pay an average hourly wage of $16, would be felt widely and deeply. "It is on average the highest-paying employer in this community and the one with the most generous benefits," said Frank Novakowski, executive director of the Patrick Henry Development Council.
More than half the 600 workers have put in at least 20 years. In addition to the regular work force, the plant employs about 200 people on contract jobs for security, cleanup and other support roles.
A union official said a small portion of rank-and-file workers still believe follow-up studies of the world nylon market will disprove the finding, a possibility that Winske said could save the plant. Those studies are due in three to four months.
But the tone of Winske's four-paragraph bulletin, posted inside the plant Monday, prompted most to think seriously about their futures, said Billy Buchanan, president of the Martinsville DuPont Employees Union.
"It was very disappointing to people, but it wasn't a big shock," Buchanan said. Workers knew DuPont was studying the plant's future and might find it had none.
The plant has produced nylon fiber since it opened in 1941. Winske said the largest work force ever at the plant totaled 4,600 people about 20 years ago.
It was down to 1,300 in 1993, when the company began making further cuts that reduced payrolls by another 50 percent to present levels. At that time, DuPont said the Martinsville plant was losing money, and there was speculation that the facility might close.
Since 1993, workers and management made great strides with plant efficiency and profitability, but "it just hasn't been enough," Buchanan said.
Winske told workers the hosiery nylon they make is probably headed down in price - enough to wipe out efficiency gains and again make the plant a money-losing operation. That would make it a candidate for closure, he said.
At that point, employees might be shifted to other operations.
If the plant closes, the community would intensify efforts to find other employers for the 500 acres the company owns, Novakowski said.
But those laid off likely would face reduced wages in other jobs, unless they commuted to Roanoke or Greensboro, Buchanan said.
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