FG Wilson to Cut 260 Jobs

The odds are good that unless you work in engineering you do not know much about a company called FG Wilson, For those of you who are not up to date here is a look at how the company describes itself, “We are a truly global company with over 3,000 employees and 45 years of experience in the supply of diesel and gas generator sets. Our product range from 5.5 – 2,500 kVA, includes open and enclosed generator sets providing prime and standby power – from standby domestic use, right up to power modules with the ability to operate as complete power stations supplying electricity to national grids…. Our world leading position within the power generation industry is as a result of our engineering expertise and the continual investment in new technology and production methods. A recent investment of $26m to our Engineering Centre of Excellence has further enhanced our validation and testing facilities. This centre also houses Europe’s largest fully automated hemi-anechoic chamber, providing state of the art acoustic research and test capabilities. A further $5m saw the installation of a continuous flow assembly line, used to optimise production efficiencies and product quality.”

Well it looks like the company is going to have to do that without about 260 of its employees. The company is getting ready to take a mass layoff action in a big way. For those of you who are not familiar with the idea of a mass layoff action here is a look at how the federal government has chosen to define the term, “The Mass Layoff Statistics (MLS) program collects reports on mass layoff actions that result in workers being separated from their jobs. 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.”

The company will be making all of these cuts by the end of the year for two very different reasons. The first is a general cut to the operating costs of the facility. The second reason is because the company has chosen to outsource some of its operations to China, moving jobs out of the United States at a time when the global economy is faltering and every job counts.

Interestingly enough the company has made no statement on the layoffs, instead their most recent release,  was about a new plan for partnership, “FG Wilson recently teamed up with one of our UK Dealers, Power Electrics and Perkins to deliver an event for London based Consultants. More specifically, this seminar, titled ‘Diesel Standby Power – The Future’ was aimed at supporting those involved in the design and delivery of data centre projects. Interest levels were high with 25 Consultants attending the seminar on the 27th March at its unique venue – the London Transport Museum. The morning session facilitated discussion on a wide range of standby power topics focused on enhancing system reliability and reducing cost of ownership. Subjects included optimal sizing of generator sets, engine emissions standards, fuel storage and control systems.”