ATHOL – L.S. Starrett, one of Athol’s largest employers, has laid off 179 employees, both in Athol and at other locations.
The company’s public relations consultant, empHowered PR, released a statement Tuesday attributed to Starrett CEO Roger Amrol confirming the company has laid off 78 people at its Athol headquarters and cut another 101 positions “across its 10 other global business locations.”
“While it is never easy to determine where to make reductions in our workforce,” said the release, “the positions affected are those in our indirect and administrative services departments, including but not limited to IT, sales, finance, HR, quality assurance, maintenance and engineering. Severance packages are being offered to our full-time affected employees, as well as MassHire career services and support from our Human Resources team. Starrett remains committed to remaining in Athol where most of our manufacturing and remaining support functions are critical to our overall business.”
The layoffs were done on June 30 and no specific reason was given by the empHowered PR representative. Several Starrett employees who spoke with the Athol Daily News said they received no advance notice of the layoffs. The employees were a mix of recent hires and those that had been with the company for years.
At a recent informational meeting at Athol Public Library organized by the MassHire Franklin Hampshire Career Center, around 15 former Starrett employees were in attendance. Representatives from MassHire provided information on applying for unemployment benefits, health insurance and job seeker services. Those who were unable to make Wednesday’s meeting can call MassHire’s Greenfield office at (413) 774-4361 or visit www.masshirefhcareers.org.
Contacted by the Athol Daily News for his reaction to news of the layoffs, Town Manager Shaun Suhoski said, “The recent confirmation of force reductions across L.S. Starrett’s various operations — including about 80 jobs locally — was unsettling news. They are a legacy manufacturer and benefactor in the community, and we certainly hope to see the business continue to thrive as several hundred employees work in the downtown Athol campus.”
“For now,” he continued, “I want to thank state Rep. Susannah Whipps and state Sen. Jo Comerford for ensuring that MassHire’s informational program was held here in Athol so those impacted by this contraction can get information on other job and re-training opportunities, and direct assistance filing for unemployment benefits.”
Greg Vine can be reached at gvineadn@gmail.com.