SIDNEY – Two Sidney employers, Gissing North America and Ross Casting & Innovation, announced layoffs affecting more than 100 employees at each company.
In a notice sent to the Ohio Department of Jobs & Family Services, Ross Casting & Innovation reported it will shut down its plant in Sidney for an indefinite period of time. The temporary shutdown, which began Tuesday, will affect 167 employees in Sidney.
“We are doing this due to unforeseen business circumstances in order to comply with the Ohio Department of Health’s Stay at Home Order issued March 22, 2020,” Chief Operating Officer Wayne Thompson wrote.
Ross Casting & Innovation, which manufactures aluminum castings for the industrial and automotive markets, anticipates recalling the majority of its employees following the conclusion of the shutdown.
Gissing North America reported it is laying off 120 employees at its ConForm Automotive facility in Sidney, which manufactures automobile parts. The layoffs began Monday and affect all positions within the facility with the exception of building security and management.
“The layoffs are expected to be temporary, having resulted from the downstream effect of the OEM Customers pulling volumes due to COVID-19,” Jessica Roast, a senior professional in human resources for GNA, wrote.
The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act of 1988, the WARN Act, requires employers with 100 or more employees to provide at least 60 calendar days advance written notice of a plant closing and mass layoffs affecting 50 or more employees at a single site of employment.
The act makes exceptions to the requirements due to unforeseeable circumstances. Companies have cited the coronavirus pandemic and Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine’s stay at home order for non-essential business as unforeseen circumstances.
Gissing North America and Ross Casting & Innovation are just two of the dozens of Ohio businesses that have laid off workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. On Monday, Norcold Inc. reported it would lay off 224 of its 265 employees in Sidney and 121 of its 137 employees in Gettysburg.
