A major layoff at the Spectrum Brands, Ray-O-Vac battery plant in Fennimore. Janet Masters, director of corporate communications for Spectrum Brands, says 100 employees at the Fennimore Ray-O-Vac plant in Grant County will be out of jobs, effective in February. The jobs, both salaried and nonsalaried, will be shifted to China, reducing employment at Ray-O-Vac Fennimore to 175 people.
The facility makes all the Ray-O-Vac "AA," "AAA," "C" and "D" alkaline batteries, and will be cut back to fifty percent of "AA" production and one fourth of "AAA" production, with no change to "C" or "D" production.
Masters says the company will offer an assistance program to affected employees, who will also likely be eligible for state or federal job training assistance.
(audio: WGLR )