Nemschoff Chairs to Layoff 100

Have you ever heard of Nemschoff Chairs? The odds are good that you have not. The company makes furniture, as you may have guessed. What you may not have guessed is that they are a subsidiary of the much larger Herman Miller Inc. For those of you who are still not recognizing names here is a look at how Herman Miller Inc., describes itself, “Today, in addition to our classic pieces and new designs for the home, Herman Miller is a recognized innovator in contemporary interior furnishings, solutions for healthcare environments, and related technologies and services. A publicly held company headquartered in Zeeland, Michigan, we have manufacturing facilities in the United States, China, Italy, and the United Kingdom and sales offices, dealers, licensees, and customers in over 100 countries. We operate through several focused businesses, brands, and distribution channels, including Herman Miller, Herman Miller Healthcare, Nemschoff, Geiger International, and independently owned dealerships. All of them work to design and build a better world around you.”

Apparently the company believes that they can build a better world without more than 100 of its workers. Nemschoff Chairs is going to be shutting down operations at one of its plants in Sioux Center. That closure is slated to impact about 111 of the company’s current workers. They are getting the pink slip as the plant closes. The closure is set to happen by the 15^th of September.

This extra long notice probably has as much to do with the fact that this action qualifies as a mass layoff action as it is with the complexities of closing down a manufacturing facility and moving the work to a new location. For those of you who are not familiar with the concept of a mass layoff action here is a look at how the federal government defines the term, “Monthly mass layoff numbers are from establishments which have at least 50 initial claims for unemployment insurance (UI) filed against them during a 5-week period. Extended mass layoff numbers (issued quarterly) are from a subset of such establishments—where private sector nonfarm employers indicate that 50 or more workers were separated from their jobs for at least 31 days.”

A representative of the company told a reporter for kcautv.com the following about the job cuts, “Unfortunately, this will affect a total of 111 jobs in the community, of which 19 people are currently on indefinite layoff. The active 92 positions will be eliminated over the course of the equipment transfer and closure, with approximately 30 jobs expected to end in late July, another 50 in late August, and the balance by September 15 when the closure is expected to be complete”

According to the same report the company will not be making any attempts to find the soon to be displaced workers a new job within the company, which means that they will be largely on their own when it comes to finding new work in the current downturned economy.  The company will be giving an indeterminate amount of severance to the workers.