Sony DADC to Lay Off Hundreds in Terre Haute

(photo courtesy WTHI-TV)

Sony DADC has announced plans to lay off 375 workers at its Terre Haute facility. In a notice to the Indiana Department of Workforce Development, the company says the layoffs are due to its decision to outsource the music and video manufacturing operations at the facility. A spokeswoman for Sony DADC tells our partners at WTHI-TV the move will affect more than half the employees at the Vigo County location.

The first round of layoffs is expected to occur March 23 with additional rounds taking place through August. The separations are expected to be permanent, according to the company.

Spokeswoman Lisa Gephart told WTHI-TV the outsourcing agreement with California-based Technicolor Home Entertainment services "best enables" the company to provide customers with cost-effective packaged media. The company, she added, has been impacted by increased competition from online streaming services such as Netflix, Hulu and Amazon as well as big box retailers putting less emphasis on packaged media including DVDs, Blu-Ray and CDs.

The remaining 300 employees, Gephart said will continue to support the Sony Playstation business as well as new formats such as UHD100.

WTHI obtained a copy of the letter given to employees notifying them of the outsourcing decision. You can view that letter by clicking here.