Sidney weathers 711 layoffs in four days from virus

The small Shelby County city of Sidney, with 21,000 residents, has seen more than 700 layoffs in less than the time of a work week as businesses recoil from the coronavirus pandemic.

Counties north of Dayton have been especially hard hit with coronavirus-related layoffs in the past several days, as yet another Sidney employer announced job cuts Friday.

On Friday, the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services made public a WARN letter from Augusta Sportswear Inc. notifying state government that the company was closing its Sid- ney distribution operation “for an indefinite period of time.”

Augusta Sportswear joins Norcold Inc., Gissing North America and Ross Casting and Innovation in announc- ing layoffs affecting hundreds of workers in and near Sidney. Norcold also advised the state of plans to lay off 121 Darke County employees.

In all, the Shelby County community has seen WARN notices outlining 711 layoffs in just four days, as of midday Friday.

Blame the happenstance of having a concentration of auto supply chain companies, the city manager of Sidney said.

“I believe it has to do with the temporary shutdown of production at automotive manufacturing plants, which in turn has impacted the supply chain,” Sidney City Manager Mark Cundiff said in an email. “What we are seeing are layoffs for a specific period of time, which corresponds with the temporary shutdown of the man- ufacturing plants.”

In good times, that con- centration is a good thing, Cundiff said.

“Shelby County has more manufacturing jobs per capita than any county in Ohio,” he said. “Therefore, we are hit hard when the economy takes a turn for the worst. I don’t believe the layoffs are more permanent, but the city is watching closely the impact this will have on our local income tax revenue.”

Sidney Mayor Mike Barhorst said some of the city’s employers are busier than ever. Sidney’s Emerson is making air conditioning compressors for environmentally controlled hospital tents that are in high demand. Edgewell Personal Care is making sanitizing wipes, he said.

“As people lay off, there are other jobs,” Barhorst said. “We have had probably at least 1,000 jobs each month that they (local employers) just can’t fill.”

All North American auto production has temporarily ceased, with no plans to resume vehicle production before April 6 at the earliest. Ford and Fiat Chrysler Automotive this week offered some tentative plans to resume production by mid-April. General Motors has made no such commitment yet.

A statement from Augusta Sportswear on its web site says that the distribution center in Sidney will be closed “through April 6th, 2020.”

“We will follow up as soon as we receive more information regarding the re-opening of our Ohio distribution center,” a message from Dave Elliott, chief executive of Augusta Sportswear Brands, says on the company’s site.

The Augusta move affects 200 workers, the WARN (Worker Adjustment Retraining) notice says.

Murotech Ohio Corp. in Auglaize County is laying off 52 workers.

Contact this reporter at 937225-2390 or email Tom. Gnau@coxinc.com.