Ventra laying off workers

MARGARETTA TWP. — The Flex-N-Gate Ventra plant on Tiffin Avenue (Ohio 101), one of Erie County's largest employers, is laying off workers. Members of the Erie Couty's job and family services office, along with the state's office, both confirmed the layoffs at the Ventra plant, which manufactures automotive parts. It's not known how many workers have been, or are being, laid off, or how long the layoffs will last. The Register sent those questions to a company spokesman, and he did not answer them. But spokesman Jim Woodcock did provide a statement on the situation: "Automotive suppliers everywhere are coping with a global shortage of microchips and microelectronic parts. The situation is fluid. As such, we are reacting to the customer build schedules, which fluctuate accordingly." Woodcock appears to be referring to a global shortage of semiconductors and computer chips used in automotive parts. According to the Associated Press, companies that make semiconductors shifted production to consumer electronics earlier in the COVID-19 pandemic as auto sales slowed down last spring. Semiconductors are used with electronic systems in vehicles, like Bluetooth, navigation and hybrid-electric systems. Brett Whyde, president of the UAW Local 1216, the union representing Ventra workers, did not return calls seeking comment. Whyde posted several letters to union members on the union's Facebook page that reference the temporary layoffs. Whyde also references vehicle microchip shortages and idling production at Ford as the cause of layoffs, but the letters do not mention how many workers have been laid off. Ohio Job and Family Services' spokesperson, Bret Crow, said Ventra's layoffs are temporary. U.S. employers with more than 100 workers, under the WARN Act, are required to issue notice 60 days in advance of mass layoffs affecting 50 or more employees when layoffs will be for six months or longer. It appears Ventra's layoffs do not fit that bill, as Ventra did not file a WARN notice, Crow said. The union's Facebook page posted several mass layoff instruction sheets, which provide instructions on how to file for unemployment. The letters appear to indicate several rounds of layoffs at Ventra between April 16 and May 7.