AM I NEXT? NO LOVE AT DARAMIC

Charlotte, North Carolina-based Daramic, a supplier of high-performance polyethylene battery separators to the lead acid battery industry, abruptly closed its Owensboro, Kentucky, manufacturing facility.

The closure impacted all 156 employees.

According to a company spokesperson, "Daramic has made the difficult decision to shut down manufacturing operations at the Daramic Owensboro facility. We will keep the Owensboro Daramic Technical Center operational to support global business and our ongoing R&D projects. This was a very difficult decision because we know it affects our employees and their families, and we appreciate their service.”

“The Owensboro site is one of our older, less efficient production sites, and the main decision to stop manufacturing was due to the Owensboro plant’s lack of long-term profitability. We have seven remaining large-scale manufacturing facilities positioned around the world, and we can balance production across our other facilities and meet customer demands where we operate globally.”

Change is coming. There will always be a tomorrow, no matter how much you may try to ignore it. There are no guarantees in life or promises for a bright future. We see good people being laid off through no fault of their own. Just because something bad hasn't happened yet doesn't mean it won't. It can happen to anyone, anytime, anywhere. No one is guaranteed to wake up tomorrow and still have a job by evening. While many employees can read the writing on the wall, why do most assume it’s targeted at someone else? Are you now wondering, Am I Next?

AM I NEXT? NO LOVE AT WHEELS UP

New York City-based Wheels Up, a provider of "on demand" private aviation in the United States and one of the largest private aviation companies in the world, has announced an 11% reduction in force, mostly among the pilots who fly Beechcraft twin-turboprop King Air aircraft.

The layoffs impact up to 100 professional King Air pilots. In April, 2024, the company consolidated maintenance facilities, closing its repair bases in Broomfield, Colorado, and Cincinnati, with significant layoffs.

According to a company statement, “Aligning our pilot organization with the size of our fleet is critical to the success and health of our business, and the abnormalities in the industry over these last few months made appropriate staffing forecasting against regular attrition challenging. As we navigate through this difficult period of change, we want to once again acknowledge the pivotal roles that all of our team members play in ensuring our operation reflects the high standards we have set for ourselves, our members, and our customers.”

Wheels Up is owned by a consortium with Delta Airlines owning a majority share.

Change is coming. There will always be a tomorrow, no matter how much you may try to ignore it. There are no guarantees in life or promises for a bright future. We see good people being laid off through no fault of their own. Just because something bad hasn't happened yet doesn't mean it won't. It can happen to anyone, anytime, anywhere. No one is guaranteed to wake up tomorrow and still have a job by evening. Are you now wondering, Am I Next?

AM I NEXT? NO LOVE AT MCKINLEY PAPER COMPANY

Dallas, Texas-based McKinley Paper Company, a manufacturer of paper and paper products and owned by Mexico City, Mexico-based Bio Pappel, has announced that it is idling operations at its Port Angeles, Washington paper mill and indefinitely laying off employees.

The closure will impact 193 employees commencing on August 25, 2024.

According to General Manager Kevin Scott, “We hope it will reopen. The plan is to prepare the mill to be idle and then to be able to restart, and we’d like that to happen sooner rather than later. It’s a question of when the market conditions will allow. We’ve been waiting for the sale price of our product to increase, and it has not increased as we’d like. Meanwhile, our input costs have gone up. So, it’s market related. And we’re trying to prepare our people and the facility to get through until the market does allow us to restart.”

Change is coming. There will always be a tomorrow, no matter how much you may try to ignore it. There are no guarantees in life or promises for a bright future. We see good people being laid off through no fault of their own. Just because something bad hasn't happened yet doesn't mean it won't. It can happen to anyone, anytime, anywhere. No one is guaranteed to wake up tomorrow and still have a job by evening. Are you now wondering, Am I Next?