Waynsboro, VA, August 17-- Dozens of employees at the Invista plant in Waynesboro could soon be losing their jobs, according to the Augusta Virginia Free Press.
An e-mail sent to The Augusta Free Press on Friday reported that employees in the maintenance department at the plant had been told last week that up to 50 percent of those in their department would be losing their jobs in the near future.
Approximately 140 people are employed in the maintenance division at Invista in Waynesboro.
More than 1,000 people are employed at the plant all told.
Employees in other departments at the local plant could be on the chopping block as well - though details to that end from Invista are sketchy at this time.
"There has been talk about possible reductions in the number of positions at the Waynesboro site," company spokesperson Erica Luongo told the AFP on Monday.
"That issue is still in negotiations, and the decisions on that have not been finalized. The issue is being discussed with the union, and to say anything more at this point would be in violation of the spirit of those negotiations," Luongo said.
Jim Flickinger, the president of International Brotherhood of DuPont Workers Local 381, confirmed to the AFP on Monday that the union and the company are involved in negotiations over possible job reductions at the Waynesboro Invista site.
Flickinger said the negotiations could be wrapped up this week.
The possibility of job reductions in Waynesboro has been a topic of discussion since the Wichita, Kan.,-based Koch Industries completed its $4 billion-plus purchase of the former DuPont Textiles and Interiors in April.
Koch officials had said at that time that the company would be looking at its Invista sites to consider what changes might need to be made with respect to the company's operations to better position Invista to compete in the global market.
Last month, the company completed phase one of restructuring at its Waynesboro site - laying off an undisclosed number of employees from several different areas within the site.
