AFL to Cut Jobs in NJ

AFL is a name that most of you have more than likely not heard about in the past, unless that is you spend a lot of time looking for publishing companies in the New Jersey area. So before we talk about the job cuts being made by the company lets begin by taking a look at how the company has chosen to describe itself, “AFL is a leading provider of web printing, finishing, and circulation services for  the publishers of daily, weekly, and monthly newspapers, annuals, guide books, coupon books, and niche publications. From plants in Voorhees and Secaucus, New Jersey, we serve customers throughout the North-East and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States … and beyond.”

Sadly the company has gotten rid of 63 workers in a move to decrease its expenses. The company recently lost a pair of large contracts worth several million dollars. It seems like no specific job titles are immune from the job cuts as workers from all sections of the company have been cut back in order to set the balance sheet to right. Job cuts of this scale are enough to qualify as a mass layoff action under the current federal guidelines.

For those of you who are not familiar with the idea of a mass layoff action here is a look at how the company chooses to describe itself, “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 only good news would be that if the company manages to trigger a mass layoff action the workers would have to be given several weeks of notification before they are put out of a job.

Interestingly enough the company, in its most recent press release, chose not to talk about the cuts to the company, but instead talked about an expansion project that the company was undergoing, “AFL Web Printing is Growing. AFL Web Printing announces the addition of high speed inserting equipment to its Voorhees and Secaucus facility. Voorhees Vice President of Operations Segundo Rosario Jr. said “AFL continues to evaluate the needs of our current and future customers and we are positioned to fulfill the need for sophisticated zoned advertising inserts, processed at press speed. Speed and accuracy are the goal we set and along with K&M Manufacturing we have accomplished that goal.” The addition of this equipment is a reflection of AFL’s commitment to providing quality products, exceptional service and innovative solutions to helping their customers grow their business.”

For now the company has not outlined any information about severance or other transitional benefits that the company may be offering to the soon to be displaced workers.