It’s true; twenty-two people from the custom division of Crane’s have received pink slips due to the slow holiday season. Not exactly the uplifting news stationery retailers need right now, especially in light of the stress level already going on in stores and with consumers.
Crane lays off 22 from card facility
Updated: 01/14/2009 08:31:24 AM EST
NORTH ADAMS — Citing poor holiday card sales, Crane & Co. announced on Tuesday that it has eliminated 22 jobs at a North Adams facility.The 22 employees have been laid off from Crane’s personalized design services facility on Curran Highway. They will be able to apply for other jobs within the company during a 12-week period in which Crane will maintain their benefits, including health insurance, the firm said.
Crane has 298 total employees at its personalized design services facility, which prints stationery, invitations and announcements for the company’s 2,000 independent retailers across the country. Some 900 of Crane’s 1,200 total employees are employed at eight Berkshire County facilities, including three mills. The remaining 300 employees work in Sweden.
The company said no further layoffs are expected at this time.
“We had hoped to avoid any layoffs by reducing hours for all employees back in May, and were hoping for a more robust holiday season,” said Anita D. Brady, vice president of Crane’s social and business papers, in a statement.
“The worst of the financial downturn happened in mid-September, just at the beginning of what has traditionally been our best time of the year with consumer and corporate holiday card orders,” Brady said. “These orders were down much more than anticipated.”
Crane & Co. said it will also try to manage costs and improve efficiency.
How this will-—or won’t-—impact wedding season has yet to be seen, but layoffs are never good. Our hearts go out to those in North Adams whose jobs were part of the cut.
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