Genie continues cut backs

Plant shut downs scheduled

MOSES LAKE - Genie Industries' Moses Lake plant will close Tuesday, Wednesday and possibly Nov. 26 as part of a scaling back effort.

The plant was also close earlier this month on Nov. 5, Nov. 6, Nov. 12 and Nov. 13, according to company spokesperson Melinda Zimmerman-Smith told the Columbia Basin Herald Friday.

She said she didn't have plant shut down dates for December.

"We have to scale back according to our demand for product," she said. "We're shutting down plants to basically meet the needs of our customers."

The closures mean employees supplement their lost wages by collecting unemployment available for partial work weeks, she confirmed.

The closures affect the manufacturing side of the plant, not the administrative side, she explained.

Genie, an aerial work platform manufacturer based in Redmond, Wash., previously employed 650 people in Moses Lake before two rounds of employee layoffs in October which decreased the amount of workers by about 150 people, according to the company.

About 50 people left through the voluntary exit program and more than 100 people left the company shortly after in a separate reduction in force, she said.

"We participate in an industry that's suffering a downturn," she said. "We're growing over the long term. Our products are being used in more places and applications than ever before."