NO LOVE AT SIGNIFY (03/24/24)

MARCH 24, 2024 — 109 TEXAS EMPLOYEES

The company has announced the closure of its San Marcos, Texas, manufacturing facility and the layoff of 109 employees, including 69 production workers, 12 engineering jobs, 10 in supply chain management, and 9 in warehouse operations, starting in May 2024. Production will be moved to facilities in Camargo, Mexico, and Littlestown, Pennsylvania.

MAY 16, 2018 — COMPANY REBRANDS AS SIGNIFY

Somerset, New Jersey – Signify, the world leader in lighting, has today launched its new company name, following the amendment of the company’s articles of association changing its name from Philips Lighting to Signify.

The choice of our new company name originates from the way light has become an intelligent language, which connects and conveys meaning. It is a clear expression of our strategic vision and purpose to unlock the extraordinary potential of light for brighter lives and a better world."

APRIL 25, 2018 — MASS LAYOFFS AS COMPANY RELOCATES TO MONTEREY, MEXICO

Netherlands-based Philips Lighting is relocating its product development and production operations from their Fall River, Massachusetts facility to Monterrey, Mexico, and laying off approximately 160 employees in the restructuring.  

Phillips acquired the plant in 2008 through an acquisition of the parent company of Lightolier, the iconic manufacturer of residential and commercial chandeliers.

All manufacturing operations are scheduled to cease in the first quarter of 2019. The company’s research and development activities are scheduled to be moved to their Canadian facility in Boisbriand, Canada. An unknown number of non-manufacturing positions will remain on-site at this time.

According to Philip’s spokesperson, Melissa Kanter …

“The layoffs are a difficult but necessary step to maintain Philips' competitiveness in the marketplace. The lighting industry is transforming at an accelerated rate. We first saw the shift from conventional lighting to LED and now we are seeing the shift towards systems and services where lighting is being used as an information pathway in cities, offices, retail, and the home. This is against a backdrop of increased competition in the market. This decision, while difficult,  is part of our plan to drive operational excellence enabling the company to optimize production and supply in order to remain competitive and provide our customers with the service and quality that they expect from us."

We are beginning to see lighting products incorporated into local area networks that are capable of carrying both device instructions and generalized internet data within a confined area. 

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. 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?

NO LOVE AT WESTERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY

With the Kentucky State budget finalized, it appears that Western Kentucky University may be forced to shed up to 300 in two or more rounds of employee layoffs  to cope with a $31 million budgetary shortfall.

Round one included approximately 119 full-time positions, 1 part-time position, and 40 unfilled positions that will remain unfilled to resolve a $15 million deficit. In addition to reductions in headcount, the University will also undergo some reorganization.

One notable provision of the budget is that tenured faculty can be laid off if their respective programs are also eliminated.

Components of the budgetary shortfall include: the $15 million deficit, the state reduction of $4.6 million, an 8+ million pension obligation and another deficit from changes in enrollment and adjustments to fixed costs. Educational institutions such as WKU live or die by their budgets. And, that the two factors that leads to budgetary flexibility are personnel costs and class offering. 

NO LOVE AT MYLAN PHARMACEUTICALS (06/03/21)

JUNE 3, 2021 — PLANT SHUTDOWN IN MORGANTOWN, WEST VIRGINIA WITH MASS LAYOFFS

The company has announced that it will be shutting down its Chestnut Ridge oral-dose manufacturing facility in Morgantown, West Virginia commencing on July 31, 2021. The shutdown will impact 1,431 employees including 764 union workers and 482 non-union workers. Some employees will remain employed for winddown activities until March 2022.

The closure is part of a $1 billion cost-cutting program previously announced.

“According to a company statement, Viatris intends to close down manufacturing operations at this facility by mid-2021. However, there will be no immediate employee reductions at the site. It is anticipated that the majority of production will continue for the next seven months, ending no later than July 31, 2021, and that the majority of employees impacted will remain employed until that time when they will be offered comprehensive separation packages.”

“Following the closure, Viatris will still maintain a significant workforce in Morgantown, including at its Research and Development Center, one of the company’s two global centers of excellence for R&D. This Center is focused on delivering world-class scientific innovation, technology, and research. The team at this facility has played a critical role in some of the company’s most important scientific achievements and will continue to do so as Viatris expands its pipeline of complex medicines. Certain other key business and administrative support functions will also continue to operate within Morgantown.

DECEMBER 11, 2020 —  PLANT CLOSURE IN MORGANTOWN, WEST VIRGINIA ANNOUNCED WITH 1,500 JOBS LOST

Mylan has announced the shutdown of its Morgantown, West Virginia manufacturing facility on July 31, 2021, as Mylan merges with Pfizer’s Upjohn unit to form a new company Viatris.

According to Viatris CEO Michael Goettler, “This announcement in no way reflects upon the company’s genuine appreciation for the commitment and work ethic of the employees at Chestnut Ridge. The phasing out of manufacturing operations at this facility was a decision Viatris did not take lightly. The site has been producing medicine in Morgantown since 1965 and paved the way for Mylan’s early growth. We are sharing the details of this announcement now in order to provide as much time as possible prior to the closing date to work with federal, state, and local leaders to try to identify alternatives for the site outside of the Viatris network that could potentially preserve as many jobs as possible. In the meantime, we remain committed to treating those impacted fairly and with respect.”

APRIL 9, 2019 … Original Post

Pennsylvania-based Mylan Pharmaceutical, one of the largest global manufacturers of generic and specialty drugs will be laying off 500 employees, approximately 15% of its workforce, in Morgantown, West Virginia.  The layoffs will be mostly in operations.

 According to a company spokesperson …

“We believe our plant in Morgantown is one of the largest pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities in the world. As the industry has changed and regulatory expectations have continued to evolve, we’ve realized that our Morgantown plant needed to be right-sized to be less complex. The right-sizing is consistent with discussions we are having with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and is necessary in order to position the site as best we can for continued operations. We remain committed to a U.S. manufacturing base and plan to continue making the majority of the medicines we supply to the U.S in the U.S.” Mylan has been operating in Morgantown for nearly 60 years and will still remain one of West Virginia’s largest employees with approximately 3,000 remaining employees. 

The union response ...

Howard Martin, United Steel Workers Local 8-957 President commented, "Currently the union leadership is working with the company, trying to finalize a voluntary separation program, doing this to offset and hopefully be able to bring some people back. Hopefully we'll get that wrapped up next week and the company can present that as an option to the members." 

Mylan has suffered financially since 2016 when the politicians and public reacted in outrage at its pricing for its EpiPen autoinjectors used in to inject epinephrine (adrenaline) under emergency conditions. a life-saving allergic reaction. Mylan neither admitted nor denied that it mischarged Medicaid and agreed to a $465 million settlement. Mylan also implemented a half-price authorized generic of EpiPen

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. 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?