Essroc Cement Laying Off 10 Percent of Its Workers

Essroc will lay off a little more than 10 percent of its employees, a company spokesman said Monday.

Nineteen of the cement maker's 180 employees will lose their jobs through at least the next few months, said Marco Barbesta, the company's director of communications. The workers are union employees, mostly involved in the manufacturing and production side of the business. Barbesta said they will be out of work at least until the end of February, if not longer.

"It could go either way," he said. "Right now, we're saying until the end of February. I wouldn't want to elaborate beyond that. It would be a guess."

The layoffs come at a time when Northampton County -- like the rest of the country -- is struggling with high unemployment. The most recent numbers put the county's unemployment rate at eight percent.

This is the first time Essroc has laid off Nazareth area employees since the 1980s, Barbesta said. These recent layoffs were caused by the general downturn in the nation's economy.

"It's not like no one is buying cement, but production is down," Barbesta said.

Tina Smith, president of the Nazareth Area Chamber of Commerce, continues to have a positive outlook for Nazareth area businesses.

"Most of the businesses in town are the smaller, owner operated businesses," she said.  "Most only have one to four employees unlike the larger employers like Essroc and Martin Guitar, which is under a hiring freeze."

Smith added that she believes unemployment in  Nazareth isn't any worse or any better than the rest of the Lehigh Valley.