In one of the most severe layoffs since the garment industry closed up shop in El Paso, Eureka sends out 800 pink slips to its facilities in El Paso and Juarez.
The workers got the bad news late yesterday.
"The plastics and assembly line are going across the border. They are taking it to Mexico," said Benito Alaniz, a company worker.
Alaniz's job is safe for now but that doesn't make him feel any better.
"In a way it makes us feel bad because the other friends are losing their jobs and that is pretty bad. We are just hoping that they will get another job fast," Alaniz said.
Eureka is restructuring its company by moving the assembly of vacuums from El Paso to Juarez.
Plastic manufacturing in El Paso will be outsourced to another company.
But distribution operations will remain at the El Paso plant.
The effort cuts costs for the company but also cuts about 400 El Paso jobs and 400 Juarez jobs.
"Lose of job is one of the most significant events in your life almost as great as divorce or death. So it is something you have to deal with on an emotional level as well," said Martin Aguirre, C.E.O. of the Upper Rio Grande At Work program.
The group is working with Eureka to help displaced workers secure a new job fast.
The job cuts don't go into effect until the end of September.
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