Workers at a Guelph fiberglass plant are shocked after learning that their jobs are in jeopardy as employer Owens Corning plans to move a significant portion of its production line to Tlaxcala, Mexico in 2016.
The company's workforce at its facility in Guelph will be cut from 169 to 50 employees, confirmed spokesperson Amanda Meehan in an interview Tuesday. Fiberglass Plate
Union representatives were made aware of the move and the layoffs during a meeting with management on Monday.
"We thought we were talking about pre-negotations," said union president Craig Andrews. "It was a total shock for us."
The Guelph plant has been responsible for making at least two types of fiberglass fabric: chopped strand mat (CSM) and continuous filament mat (CFM).
"The product we're losing is the chopped strand mat, which is very labour intensive," said Andrews. "To run a line, we need 13 guys on CSM. On CFM, which is a continuous filament mat, we run three guys per line."
Andrews says the union has not been told when or how the lay-offs will occur, only that they will coincide with plans to rebuild the plant's furnace.
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