Shop-Vac shuts down Williamsport operation, lays off more than 400

The Shop-Vac Corp. in Williamsport is closing three facilities in that city and more than 400 people will lose their jobs.

The company filed a WARN (WorkerAdjustmentandRetraining Notification) notice with the Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry dated Sept. 15, informing the state that 427 people will be out of work when the company closes three plants in Williamsport.

Thelayoffs began Tuesday and are expected to continue until Nov. 13.

Of the 427 workers there are 118 assemblers, 70 technicians, 31 forklift drivers/operators, 20 managers andassistant managers, 11 directors, 10 engineers, 12 packers/repackers, 14 shipping clerks/ laborers and another 141 people who worked in various positions.

The company said in the WARN notice that is was forced to close after a potential buyer walked away from a deal.

“Weregret that wewereunable to provide you with more notice,” the company said in the WARN notice. “The current global pandemicandeconomiccrisis has left the Company in dire financial conditions. The Company accordingly had been negotiating the sale of the business as a going concern, which, if such sale has been completed, would have enabled us to stay in business and continue the employment of employees. We fully anticipated the sale to be completed and for the buyer to hire all employees. Unfortunately, the buyer without warning walked away from the deal. Suchunforeseeable business circumstance has left us with no choice but to close our facilities.”

Jason Fink, president and CEO of the Williamsport/Lycoming Chamber of Commerce, said ownership did not reach out to the community for assistance in any of its challenges, noting that if it had, there might have been a better outcomefor the employees and the business.

Shop-Vac is known for its wet/ dry vacuum cleaners and was founded in 1953. The company is based in Williamsport.

The company has manufacturing facilities in Williamsport; Binghamton, New York; and Shenzhen, China; and ShopVac products are distributed from Williamsport; Burlington, Ontario; Guadalajara, Mexico; Melbourne, Australia; and Shenzhen; according to the company’s Facebook page. No information was available on the status of those facilities.