Nippon Sheet Glass Group to Lay Off 70-75 Employees at North Carolina Float Plant
July 12, 2012

by Erica Terrini, eterrini@glass.com

Japan-based Nippon Sheet Glass Group (NSG) will lay off an upwards of 75 employees at its Pilkington float plant in Laurinburg, N.C., in light of the temporary idling of one of its two float lines there, according to internal communications manager for Pilkington North America Inc. Roberta Steedman. The decrease in the plant's production is projected to be finalized between August and September 2012.

According to Steedman, the decision to cut back on production at the Laurinburg plant was made by NSG's Global Architectural Management Team. "[NSG] is taking action to reduce capacity and output to match the requirements of its customers," she says.

"This decision will have no impact on the supply of our existing Pilkington brand product line," Steedman adds. "We will continue to meet the demands of our customers from Laurinburg, in addition to our plants in Lathrop, Calif., and Ottawa, Ill."
Steedman says that the idling of the plant will require about 70-75 employees to be laid off, however, NSG is "currently exploring all options in an effort to minimize the number of employees impacted."

In addition to the reduced capacity at the Laurinburg plant, the company also recently announced plans to reduce capacity temporarily at its Venice, Italy-based facility.

According to NSG, the company " … intends to begin production again on both lines "when market conditions permit."