Nearly 100 employees laid off at state manufacturing company
A Chester-based designer and maker of warning lights, sirens and other systems for the automotive, aviation and “mass notification” industries has cut 17% of its workforce in two states, including 98 jobs in Connecticut, as the pandemic took a toll on sales.
Whelen Engineering Co. Inc. said the layoffs were effective Friday and also include 148 jobs at the manufacturer’s plant in Charlestown, New Hampshire. All together, 246 jobs were eliminated, touching on all areas of the company, including production, engineering, finance and sales, Whelen said.
“COVID-19 has created significant financial constraints and has resulted in a reduction in our product demand, George W. Whelen V, said, in a statement to employees. “To preserve our ability to rebuild when this recession is over, we have been forced to make the difficult but unavoidable decision to reduce our workforce.”
Prior to the job cuts, Whelen had a total of 1,474 employees — 493 in Connecticut and 981 in New Hampshire.
Whelen said it tried to avoid the layoffs. Since May, the manufacturer rearranged shifts, canceled contracts for temporary workers, froze merit pay increases and put furloughs in place. But the company said those measures were not enough to avoid layoffs.
Whelen said the job cuts are part of a streamlining of operations that will ensure the company will more “rapidly innovate, open new markets and adopt more efficient working practices.”
Employees affected by the layoffs will receive severance pay, counseling through the company’s employee assistance plan and other help, the company said.
George W. Whelen founded the company in 1952 in his garage in Deep River, according to Whelen’s website. He invented the first rotating aircraft “anti-collision” beacon, soon after designing a magnetically mounted beacon for ambulances and police vehicles, launching a new company. The company is now led by his grandson.