Mercier’s Inc to Cut Jobs

Mercier’s Inc  is a name that most of you have more than likely never heard before. So in order to get you up to speed before we explore the job cuts to come by the company we are going to take a look at how the company has chosen to describe itself before we talk about the job cuts to come to the workers of the company, “As a leader in heavy highway excavation, vegetation control, and railroad asset management since 1978, Mercier’s Inc., is a Maryland based company. The scope of work we’re involved in encompasses some of the most challenging and intense projects in North America. Our employees place safety first which is why we have an unprecedented record of safety when compared to the rest of the industry. Our highly trained team of employees have decades of experience. Their objective is to place the customer’s priorities at the top of the list and then work to meet their needs and tangible goals.”

The company recently sent out a WARN notice to the government in the state of  Maryland. For those of you who are not familiar with the idea of a WARN notice here is a look at how the government chooses to describe the term, “WARN protects workers, their families, and communities by requiring employers to provide notification 60 calendar days in advance of plant closings and mass layoffs. Advance notice gives workers and their families some transition time to adjust to the prospective loss of employment, to seek and obtain other jobs and, if necessary, to enter skill training or retraining that will allow these workers to compete successfully in the job market. WARN also provides for notice to state dislocated worker units so that they can promptly offer dislocated worker assistance. A covered plant closing occurs when a facility or operating unit is shut down for more than six months, or when 50 or more employees lose their jobs during any 30‑day period at a single site of employment. A covered mass layoff occurs when 50 to 499 employees are affected during any 30-day period at a single employment site (or for certain multiple related layoffs, during a 90-day period), if these employees represent at least 33 percent of the employer’s workforce where the layoff will occur, and the layoff results in an employment loss for more than six months. If the layoff affects 500 or more workers, the 33 percent rule does not apply.”

This are, as you may imagine, not the only job cuts to be made in the state of Maryland recently. For those of you who missed out on earlier job cuts made by the state this year here is an excerpt that will get you up to speed in no time at all, “Maryland Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller warned of a “doomsday” budget plan that could include 500 state government layoffs if the lawmakers failed to find a solution to tackle the state’s $1.1 billion budget deficit. The announcement was made on Wednesday while Maryland residents rallied against a proposed cap on income tax deductions. Miller said he believes that an alternative could be found in the governor’s budget plan…Hundreds of residents protested in front of the Maryland State House, amidst steady rain, against a proposal by the Governor Martin O’Malley that suggested the capping of income tax deductions for taxpayers above $100,000 annual income at 90% and at 80% for taxpayers who made above $200.000. The proposal was also designed to affect mortgage interest deductions. People asked how a benefit which they bought before a decade could be changed now, especially when it related to homes of people.”