Absolute Technologies Inc. in Anaheim plans to temporarily close its sprawling 86,000-square-foot machine shop facility in Anaheim for a week during Christmas due to a recent downturn in business.
The closure affects all 263 workers at the East La Palma Avenue facility from Dec. 23-27, according to a filing with California’s employment department.
Absolute Technologies, formerly known as D&D Gear Inc., designs and manufactures products for the aviation and aerospace industries, including Textron Inc.s aviation and helicopter units in Wichita, Kansas, and Fort Worth, and Seattle-based aircraft maker Boeing Co.
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This fall, aerospace giants Boeing and Textron were each hit with weeks-long strikes by machinist union members. About 5,000 Textron workers in Wichita ratified a new labor contract in late October that included a 31% pay raise over five years. Nearly a week ago, 33,000 Boeing factory workers voted to accept a contract offer with a 38% wage increase over four years and end their strike and restart idled Pacific Northwest assembly lines.
Absolute Technologies, which originally began as a small machine shop in Santa Fe Springs making service repairs for Textrons Bell Helicopters, makes landing gears, thrust reverser cylinders, flight control pistons, load transfer components and assemblies. The company was later based in Yorba Linda from 1991 to 2013, before relocating to Anaheim to grow alongside their customers, according to the companys website.
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In a letter filed with Employment Development Department on Oct. 22, Robin Alvarez, human resources director of Absolute Technologies, wrote that the temporary closure would occur for a week between Christmas and New Years Day because of a recent downturn in business.
Neither Alvarez nor Bill Beverage, chief executive of Absolute Technologies, were available to elaborate.
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The temporary layoff notice was filed by Alvarez with the EDD in accordance with the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act with California. WARN notices are required when an employer lays off more than 50 employees or a significant percentage of its staff.
The layoffs impact accountants, drivers, engineers, machinists, quality inspectors and executive leadership.