Unemployment watch
Maine’s unemployment rate of 7.7% remains significantly better than the September national average of 9.1%, but that’s small consolation to hundreds of Maine workers who recently lost their jobs. A quick tally:
Barber Foods in Portland is laying off another 71 employees as its new owner shifts work to another plant in Oklahoma. Ohio-based AdvancePierre Foods, which bought Barber Foods in June, is shutting down the Portland facility’s fully cooked foods operation and moving the work to a plant in Enid, Okla., according to the Portland Press Herald. The layoffs take effect in December. David Barber, president of Barber Foods, said the move will streamline production. This summer, the company laid off 82 workers. Following the most recent round of layoffs, the company will still employ 400 in Portland, and will focus that facility’s work on raw foods.
Citing lagging demand for its products, Verso Paper Corp. is shutting down one of its paper machines in Bucksport and laying off about 125 workers. In a recent press release, the Memphis, Tenn.-based company announced it will permanently reduce its annual production capacity by 193,000 tons by shuttering the Bucksport machine and two in Minnesota. Verso President and CEO Mike Jackson cited shrinking demand for the coated paper the No. 2 machine produces, as well as rising costs. The layoffs are effective Oct. 23. The shutdown of the machine in Bucksport will reduce Verso’s annual capacity of that type of paper by about 10%. Verso’s mill in Bucksport will remain the second-largest producer of coated groundwood paper in North America.
A Pittsfield call center abruptly closed Oct. 7, leaving 65 employees out of work. Global Contact Services laid off the center’s workers after receiving news that a major client had pulled its contract, according to the Bangor Daily News. The company, which handles inbound and outbound calls for clients such as AIG, Bank of America and American Express, opened the Pittsfield location in 2008.
Carol Coultas
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