The Waukesha-Ozaukee-Washington Workforce Development Board and HUSCO International on Thursday held a job fair tailored to employees being laid off this fall from Waukesha-based HUSCO.
HUSCO announced in June it would shut down Waukesha production for its off-highway business, shifting the work to other locations. The move will impact 100 employees beginning Nov. 23 and continuing in stages through the first quarter of 2017.
When all is said and done, 21 HUSCO employees will retire, 12 will transfer to the company’s Whitewater facility and 67 will be laid off, said Cindy Simons, operations manager at WOW Workforce Development Inc. The employees being laid off were targeted by WOW for yesterday’s job fair.
About 30 employees attended the job fair Thursday, which was held at the Workforce Development Center in Pewaukee. Twelve area companies were on hand to recruit them: Oconomowoc’s Ace Precision Machining Corp., Menomonee Falls-based Alto-Shaam Inc., Brookfield’s CC&N Communication, West Allis-based Global Power Components, New Berlin’s Hanel Corp., Burlington-based Lavelle Industries Inc., Milwaukee’s Malteurop North America, Sussex-based Quad/Graphics Inc., Waukesha’s V&L Tool LLC, Milwaukee’s Wacker Neuson Corp., Muskego-based WCS Industries and Waukesha’s Wisconsin Metal Parts Inc.
“We have very talented and skilled employees and are extremely pleased with the services the WOW Workforce Development Board have coordinated and offered HUSCO and the employees,” said Gary Strand, vice president of human resources at HUSCO. “We hope this event will help them find a new home with minimal to no employment interruption.”
“We understand the impact a layoff can have on individuals, from the initial shock to worrying about what to do next,” said Laura Catherman, president of WOW Workforce Development Board. “As soon as we learn of a layoff or closing, we meet with the business to coordinate and provide services to the affected employees. Yesterday’s event was a great example of how we can minimize the lag in an individual’s employment transition.”
