Monday he was told he and 200 other co-workers at Exide Technologies no longer had jobs after the west Shreveport automotive battery plant abruptly shut down. But Tuesday afternoon Leckie was already waiting for a callback from an employment agency about a job interview, even though Exide workers will continue to be paid, with benefits, through June 22.
"I went out early," said the 55-year-old Bossier City resident who has worked for Exide nearly 16 years. "I knew that was the key thing to do -- get your resume up to date and get out there quick. If there are any jobs, snatch them up quick before 200 others hit the market."
The prospects for Exide workers finding jobs locally appear good, thanks to low unemployment numbers and a need by other companies here for skilled labor, economic experts said Tuesday.
The jobs lost at Exide should be absorbed into the local market fairly quickly, said Kurt Foreman, senior vice president for economic development for the Greater Shreveport Chamber of Commerce.
"There will be some transition for these folks, but I've already heard of one major employer who has reached out," he said.
At least three companies by Tuesday had called Exide or the local office of the state Department of Labor, according to Derrel Hitchman, human resources manager for Exide, and Jacques Lasseigne, Shreveport regional manager for the Office of Workforce Development for the state labor department.
The plant, which produces automotive batteries for companies such as Ford Motor Co., has been in Shreveport since 1968, with Exide being the last of a series of owners. At one time the plant employed nearly 500.
The company said in a statement Monday that closing the Shreveport plant was no reflection on the quality of work here but more of a decision to improve the efficiency of manufacturing and logistics at all of its U.S. plants.
The loss of 200 jobs at once is the largest in about a year locally. In early 2005, Solo Cup announced that it would eliminate 210 local jobs when it closed. Last October, Alcoa Closure Systems International Southern Plastics Division announced it will close by the end of this year, relocating 98 jobs to Texas.
Susan Beal, director of the LSUS Center for Business and Economic Research, said the community as a whole won't feel the impact of 200 jobs lost. She said the recent opening of one phase of the Steelscape plant in south Caddo Parish opens up job possibilities.
"We do have a decent manufacturing/industrial sector," Beal said. "Based on the unemployment rate now, these types of workers are more likely to get another job relatively easily ... but they may not get exactly what they want."
Or get the kind of pay they were making at Exide. Kenny Leckie said he was bringing home about $55,000 a year, with about $25,000 of that in overtime. He doesn't expect to find another job that offers that kind of overtime opportunity.
"I feel confident I can get a job, but not making anywhere near the money I was making. I have a lot of skills a lot of people are looking for, but if I get two-thirds of my pay I will be lucky," said Leckie, who also had 17 years at the long-closed Shreveport AT&T plant.
He said since he'd been through a plant closing before, he knew what to expect. Still, that didn't lessen the shock of being told he was out of work at Exide.
"It was a kind of sneaky way to do it," Leckie said, explaining that the company had given workers Monday off. Workers thought that was because there usually is a slowdown this time of year.
"Then they called us at home and told us they were no longer in operation. The union, nobody, knew anything," Leckie said.
Said Exide's Hitchman: "I think it becomes a shock the day of being notified a job is ending sometime in the future. We felt the way we approached the situation was best for everybody" since workers would not lose pay or benefits for several months.
Exide did comply with labor regulations that require a company of at least 100 workers to give 60-day advance notice of a plant closure to workers, union representatives, state labor officials and city leaders.
According to the Louisiana Department of Labor, Exide filed that notice Monday, stating the official closing of the plant is June 22.
"We complied with the law," said Hitchman, adding that the mayors of Shreveport and Bossier City also were notified in writing Monday.
And while Exide workers will get paid for a few more months, many will still face financial adjustments in their lives.
"You start taking all the extras out," Leckie said. "The going out to eat; the vacation I was going to take this year is gone. When people start all over in a new job they don't have vacation time (accrued)."
Email This Page!