AM I NEXT? NO LOVE AT DARAMIC

Charlotte, North Carolina-based Daramic, a supplier of high-performance polyethylene battery separators to the lead acid battery industry, abruptly closed its Owensboro, Kentucky, manufacturing facility.

The closure impacted all 156 employees.

According to a company spokesperson, "Daramic has made the difficult decision to shut down manufacturing operations at the Daramic Owensboro facility. We will keep the Owensboro Daramic Technical Center operational to support global business and our ongoing R&D projects. This was a very difficult decision because we know it affects our employees and their families, and we appreciate their service.”

“The Owensboro site is one of our older, less efficient production sites, and the main decision to stop manufacturing was due to the Owensboro plant’s lack of long-term profitability. We have seven remaining large-scale manufacturing facilities positioned around the world, and we can balance production across our other facilities and meet customer demands where we operate globally.”

Change is coming. There will always be a tomorrow, no matter how much you may try to ignore it. There are no guarantees in life or promises for a bright future. We see good people being laid off through no fault of their own. Just because something bad hasn't happened yet doesn't mean it won't. It can happen to anyone, anytime, anywhere. No one is guaranteed to wake up tomorrow and still have a job by evening. While many employees can read the writing on the wall, why do most assume it’s targeted at someone else? Are you now wondering, Am I Next?

AM I NEXT? NO LOVE AT ENOVIX

Fremont, California-based Enovix, a designer and manufacturer of Lithium-ion batteries, has announced a restructuring initiative that includes a 33% reduction in force at its Freemont, California facility.

The personnel realignment will impact 177 employees and is the second round of layoffs since last year's layoff of 185 employees.

It is believed that the decision was driven by the company's acquisition of an Asian company and the certification of the company's new Malaysian fabrication facility where the prototyping and manufacturing will take place. R&D will remain in Freemont.

According to Chief Financial Officer Farhan Ahmad, "We have made very dramatic, cuts to our cost structure. And, so we can have long runway before we need to raise capital. The company is taking decisive actions to reduce its cash burn, and accelerating plans to identify additional efficiencies as we scale. A more efficient cost structure significantly reduces our capital needs and accelerates our path to profitability.”

Change is coming. There will always be a tomorrow, no matter how much you may try to ignore it. There are no guarantees in life or promises for a bright future. We see good people being laid off through no fault of their own. Just because something bad hasn't happened yet doesn't mean it won't. It can happen to anyone, anytime, anywhere. No one is guaranteed to wake up tomorrow and still have a job by evening. Are you now wondering, Am I Next?

AM I NEXT? NO LOVE AT MARQUARDT SWITCHES

Cazenovia, New York-based Marquardt Switches, a designer and manufacturer of electromechanical switching components and assemblies primarily for the automotive industry has announced that it will be offshoring some production operations at its Cazenovia manufacturing facility through 2025 to its facility located in Irapuato, Mexico.

The offshoring will impact approximately 75% of the company's production positions at the Cazenovia site, estimated to be 180 jobs.

According to the company, the move was related to Low orders, changes wrought by the pandemic, global tensions and rising costs. "Despite significant efforts and investments to mitigate these challenges, we have not been able to achieve the necessary sales growth, adding that an analysis for the future did not show sufficient growth. We deeply regret the need for these measures at the Cazenovia site and are committed to supporting affected employees through these changes. However, these decisions were necessary and urgently required to ensure our continued competitiveness.

Change is coming. There will always be a tomorrow, no matter how much you may try to ignore it. There are no guarantees in life or promises for a bright future. We see good people being laid off through no fault of their own. Just because something bad hasn't happened yet doesn't mean it won't. It can happen to anyone, anytime, anywhere. No one is guaranteed to wake up tomorrow and still have a job by evening. Are you now wondering, Am I Next?