One month before Christmas, a company specializing in rubber finishing parts must close its doors, and thus lay off 82 employees, due to the end of a long-standing partnership and the slowdown in activities of the manufacturer Daimler-Chrysler.
Multi
“It’s quite a shock for me and my employees. We didn’t see it coming,” explains the general director and co-owner of Multi Journal.
Daimler-Chrysler is a major customer of Waterville TG. Its agreement with the manufacturer represents 50% of its current production. However, with the slowdown in the automobile giant’s activities, Waterville TG had to make drastic decisions.
“Chrysler has reduced its orders by more than 50%,” adds Ms. Lemieux. Waterville TG was having difficulty filling their workforce.
“Seeing this, they decided to take over our subcontracting contracts that were still in progress and move them to their factory.”
The end in January
Multi X will officially close its doors on January 9. Until then, employees will be laid off gradually. A committee has already been set up to help them find new jobs.
“We are like a family and we are there for each other,” explains Ms. Lemieux. We will do everything we can to find resources to help them. This is our priority.”
The company’s final weeks will unfold as they watch Waterville TG employees dismantle machines before moving them into their factory.
“It’s quite sad. They have already started dismantling since Friday while our employees are working, underlines the general director. It’s a strange atmosphere.”
