City Commissioner and Chamber of Commerce President Sandra Wilson told West Kentucky Star she has not heard a reason for the layoffs, which began in October.
Wilson said, "I'm hopeful that this is just a temporary layoff and that the plant will be opened back up soon. They had been laying employees off, some in October and some later. Those employees have been filing for unemployment."
She said the city has requested the West Kentucky Workforce Board to implement their rapid response service team for displaced employees, and has also notified the Kentucky Education Workforce Development Cabinet of the situation.
Wilson said the city is hoping for the best while preparing for what they might need to do next.
She said employees should go to the Kentucky Career Center to get assistance in filing for unemployment.
In a statement released Thursday, Genova Products Director of Operations Joseph Pusateri cited a raw material shortage as the reason for the layoffs. The statement says, "The initial thought was this shortage would be temporary and we would resume operations quickly. This shortage has lasted longer than we originally anticipated."
Pusateri said the company intends to resume normal operations, and they recognize the hardship this places on employees. He said they have cashed out any eligible paid time off in an attempt to minimize hardship on employees.
Genova is a Michigan-based company that announced they would open a Paducah facility in 2014. Their website claims they are the one of the world's largest manufacturers of vinyl plumbing.
Here is the complete statement from Genova:
"GENOVA KENTUCKY SUSPENDED NORMAL OPERATIONS IN LATE NOVEMBER DUE TO A RAW MATERIAL SHORTAGE. THE INITIAL THOUGHT WAS THIS SHORTAGE WOULD BE TEMPORARY AND WE WOULD RESUME OPERATIONS QUICKLY. THIS SHORTAGE HAS LASTED LONGER THAN WE ORIGINALLY ANTICIPATED.
WE ARE DILIGENTLY WORKING TOWARDS OBTAINING RAW MATERIAL AND RESUMING OPERATIONS AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE. TO ASSIST OUR EMPLOYEES, WE HAVE CASHED OUT ANY ELIGIBLE PTO (PAID TIME OFF) AS TO MINIMIZE ANY HARDSHIP ON THEM.
OUR OBJECTIVE HAS AND CONTINUES TO BE TO RESUME NORMAL OPERATIONS SO OUR MOST VALUED ASSOCIATES CAN RETURN BACK TO WORK. WE RECOGNIZE THIS HAS BEEN A HARDSHIP ON OUR EMPLOYEES AND WE ARE DOING EVERYTHING WE CAN TO ACCOMMODATE THEIR NEEDS. THIS IS ESPECIALLY DIFFICULT DURING THIS TIME OF YEAR NOW THAT THE HOLIDAY SEASON IS UPON US.
WE WILL KEEP EVERYONE UPDATED AS OUR CURRENT SITUATION CHANGES.
JOSEPH PUSATERI
DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS
GENOVA PRODUCTS, INC"
In a statement released Thursday, Genova Products Director of Operations Joseph Pusateri cited a raw material shortage as the reason for the layoffs. The statement says, "The initial thought was this shortage would be temporary and we would resume operations quickly. This shortage has lasted longer than we originally anticipated."
Pusateri said the company intends to resume normal operations, and they recognize the hardship this places on employees. He said they have cashed out any eligible paid time off in an attempt to minimize hardship on employees.
Genova is a Michigan-based company that announced they would open a Paducah facility in 2014. Their website claims they are the one of the world's largest manufacturers of vinyl plumbing.
Here is the complete statement from Genova:
"GENOVA KENTUCKY SUSPENDED NORMAL OPERATIONS IN LATE NOVEMBER DUE TO A RAW MATERIAL SHORTAGE. THE INITIAL THOUGHT WAS THIS SHORTAGE WOULD BE TEMPORARY AND WE WOULD RESUME OPERATIONS QUICKLY. THIS SHORTAGE HAS LASTED LONGER THAN WE ORIGINALLY ANTICIPATED.
WE ARE DILIGENTLY WORKING TOWARDS OBTAINING RAW MATERIAL AND RESUMING OPERATIONS AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE. TO ASSIST OUR EMPLOYEES, WE HAVE CASHED OUT ANY ELIGIBLE PTO (PAID TIME OFF) AS TO MINIMIZE ANY HARDSHIP ON THEM.
OUR OBJECTIVE HAS AND CONTINUES TO BE TO RESUME NORMAL OPERATIONS SO OUR MOST VALUED ASSOCIATES CAN RETURN BACK TO WORK. WE RECOGNIZE THIS HAS BEEN A HARDSHIP ON OUR EMPLOYEES AND WE ARE DOING EVERYTHING WE CAN TO ACCOMMODATE THEIR NEEDS. THIS IS ESPECIALLY DIFFICULT DURING THIS TIME OF YEAR NOW THAT THE HOLIDAY SEASON IS UPON US.
WE WILL KEEP EVERYONE UPDATED AS OUR CURRENT SITUATION CHANGES.
JOSEPH PUSATERI
DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS
GENOVA PRODUCTS, INC"
