More tough economic news for central Wisconsin. Thirty employees of Cummins Filtration in Neillsville were let go Friday. Company spokesman Mark Land says the layoffs are directly related to the contracting economy. “Our demand has been falling off,” says Land. “We're working very hard to keep our costs in line with the demand for our products. In order to do that, we found it necessary to take this action to reduce our head count in Neillsville.”
The cuts reduce the workforce at the Neillsville plant to 240 people. It's unclear if other cuts will be necessary. “The short answer is, it's impossible to say that there won't be any more cuts,” says Land. “We just don't know at this point.
Cummins manufactures filtration, exhaust, coolant and fuel additive systems for all engineering vehicles. Their clients include Harley Davidson, International Truck, John Deere and Freightliner. “As demand for the vehicles drop, obviously demand for the engines drop and demand for the filters drop. It truly is just a trickle down effect.”
The layoffs were spread over all three shifts. Employees were offered severance packages, but the layoffs were immediate.