Saco’s largest taxpayer announced Tuesday that it will permanently lay off about 30 workers.
The work force reductions at Saco Operations, formerly known as Saco Defense, will begin in early October, with the final group of employees expected to leave by Jan. 4.
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Saco Operations’ parent company is General Dynamics, which also owns Bath Iron Works.
Karl Johnson, a spokesman for General Dynamics’ Armor and Technical Products Division, attributed the layoffs to a decline in demand for its gun systems and fulfillment of an Army contract for military vehicle “reactive armor.”
The layoffs, which will affect hourly and salaried employees in Saco and 50 workers at a similar plant in Vermont, are the first work force reductions in Saco since March 2004, when General Dynamics laid off 50 employees.
Saco Operations has operated in the city for about 60 years. Its workload and work force increased after war broke out in Iraq in 2003, said Saco Mayor Mark Johnston.
Johnston, who toured the plant earlier this year with a contingent of city officials, said he was “shocked and disappointed” by the announcement of the layoffs.
The mayor said Saco Operations is the city’s largest taxpayer and is the type of business — a clean industry that offers a good work environment — that the city wants.
“This just shows that decreased military spending, especially in places like Iraq, can have an impact on a local economy,” Johnston said. “The layoffs are the result of the demilitarization of our foreign war machine.”
According to its website, Saco Operations is an industry leader in weapon system production. It produces single and multi-barrel weapons for aircraft, Gatling guns, grenade launchers and machine guns.
In Williston, Vt., the company produces “reactive armor” for tanks and other types of military vehicles. Johnston said the armor protects soldiers by detonating an explosive charge that neutralizes incoming enemy fire.
The Saco plant, which employs 375 people, has more than 450,000 square feet of manufacturing space.
Johnson would not speculate on whether there will be additional layoffs, but he said the pending layoffs will be “permanent.”
“The employees are being told this is a permanent job action, unlike the ebbs and flows of shipbuilding,” he said.
Staff Writer Dennis Hoey can be contacted at 791-6365 or at:
dhoey@pressherald.com
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