Rittal moved its corporate headquarters from Urbana to Chicago in August. But Jeff Lawrence, a spokesman for the company, said the layoffs were not related to that.
“It is a small adjustment relative to our total employment and due to changing business conditions with only a few specific customers,” Lawrence said of the local cuts. “It is completely unrelated to the opening of our Chicago facility, which is intended to facilitate future growth. The adjustments were carefully implemented across multiple Rittal locations in the U.S., so the local impact is also less than you might expect.”
The company has discussed significant improvements to production lines at the Urbana facility, Bailey said, and the recent layoffs do not affect that decision.
“They’re on track with everything they talked about doing,” Bailey said of Rittal.
Rittal, which produces computer racks and enclosures, was the eighth-largest taxpayer in Champaign County in 2013, according to records from the Champaign County Auditor’s Office.
The company has made gains in some business segments, particularly among its domestic U.S. customers, Lawrence said.
“There have, however, been some downward trends with specific customers that have required us to make small adjustments in our workforce to reflect their changing requirements,” Lawrence said.
Rittal is also investing in new sales, marketing and production resources to prepare for future growth, including improving production capabilities in Urbana.
“In just the last six months, these investments have included the opening of our new headquarters in suburban Chicago and several multi-million dollar upgrades to our production capabilities in Urbana,” Lawrence said. “We are confident that these investments will enable us to continue to grow in our core domestic business in the future.”
Staff from the Champaign Technology and Employment Center will work with the company and laid-off employees to help match their skills with other jobs available locally, said Eric Welty, workforce supervisor for Champaign and Logan County Job and Family Services.
In July 2011, state officials approved a seven-year, 55-percent tax credit in exchange for a commitment to create 118 full-time jobs and retain 531 existing jobs.
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