South Bend Company Lays Off Two Dozen
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowSouth Bend-based Manufacturing Technology Inc. has laid off 24 employees. The South Bend Tribune reports the layoffs are the result of a drop in demand for large friction welding machines.
The publication says a number of positions were included in the cuts, such as production, engineering, purchasing, marketing, human resources and accounting. Vice President of Marketing and Sales Development Bob Besse tells the Tribune the company plans to focus on smaller machines, for which there is a higher demand.
"The demand is very cyclical on larger machines, but it’s not as much for the smaller ones," Besse told the publication. "When a machine is over $1 million in price we’re successful, but the market is growing for machines that are $500,000 or less. We expect to grow in the auto sector and other markets that use smaller automated machines."
Besse says the layoffs were necessary in order to remain competitive, according to the Tribune.