EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (WEAU) – A Minnesota-based manufacturing company says it’s going to substantially reduce the number of people working at its plant in Eau Claire. That announcement has since been finalized with the state’s Department of Workforce Development (DWD).
Hutchinson Technology (HTI) has had a facility on Eau Claire’s northwest side for many years. Now the company says it plans to reduce the number of people it employs by more than half.
HTI’s plant on Alpine road currently has 425 employees. On May 5 the company said it plans to start permanently laying off 237 of them.
“We’ve talked with senior management in the company off and on over the years, and they have a fairly narrow line of products that they make,” said Aaron White, the Economic Development Manager for the City of Eau Claire. “The components they make are very specific for very specific companies, so their fortunes are tied more to the ebb and flow of the very specific customers they serve.”
