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May 18, 2007
A slowdown in work after telecommunications mergers and a move to go with temporary trailers for school campuses in hurricane-ravaged New Orleans leave 80 employees of Fibrebond Corp. in Minden without jobs. The reduction represents about 15 percent of the facility's work force.
The reasons for the layoffs completed Thursday at the plant that specializes in concrete products and site construction services were given by Todd Walker, the company's president and CEO. "It's a very difficult market right now. Obviously, with reduced volumes, it's extremely difficult to be profitable."
Twenty-nine of the 80 idled hourly and salaried workers accepted severance packages offered to them, Walker said.
Fibrebond makes concrete equipment shelters for tower bases for the telecommunications industry, which Walker said is its largest market. Business slowed as mergers happened, he said, specifically mentioning the Sprint and Nextel merger and AT&T's union with Cingular.
Another factor is the company's inability to secure more contracts in areas that are rebuilding after Hurricane Katrina. Eleven campuses are being built in the New Orleans area, Walker said, but the state chose to get trailers to temporarily house campuses instead of building concrete classrooms.
Fibrebond is one of Minden's largest employers. "I regret that they are having to have the layoffs. I hope it's temporary," Mayor Bill Robertson said, adding that he hopes the firm gets more jobs and is able to rehire some employees.
The layoffs could impact the city's economy, he said. "I don't think it will be anything dramatic. That's not to say I'm not concerned."
In June 2002, Fibrebond laid off 55 workers and cut the wages of executives and hourly workers. Demand picked up the following year, enabling the company to hire more workers.
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