Steffes in Dickinson lays off 19

DICKINSON, N.D. (AP) — One of Dickinson’s largest employers says it has laid off 19 machine operators and assemblers, about 15 percent of its work force.

The Steffes Corp., had asked workers to cut hours to try to avoid layoffs but it wasn’t enough, President Joe Rothschiller said.

Steffes makes residential electric heaters, oil field products, and attachments and production parts for Bobcat Co., which also has been hit by layoffs amid the economic slowdown.

“We just couldn’t sustain the employment level anymore and had to make those reductions,” Rothschiller said.

“We would consider every job to have a $50,000 impact on our expense structure,” he said.

Steffes announced a layoff of about a dozen workers in February. Rothschiller said he hopes those workers who were laid off can be brought back within six months.

“At some point very soon, there is no where to go but up,” he said.

Another Dickinson company, TMI Systems Design Corp., is cutting hours at two of its three factories.

TMI personnel director Cal Killing said workers in its countertop and cabinetry factories will go to a 36-hour week next month. The architectural woodwork factory will continue 40-hour weeks.

“The work that we do depends on what we receive from our customers in the field, like the construction projects,” Kolling said.

TMI is still a strong company, he said. He expects the reduced hours to last about eight weeks, possibly less.

than that.

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