State loses another manufacturing plant—101 out of work in Catoosa

 

The coronavirus pandemic has resulted in the shutdown of the Umicore Autocat USA plant in Catoosa, putting 101 employees out of work as of Monday.

The company notified Oklahoma’s Office of Workforce Development stated that all manufacturing operations, research and development operations and the majority of support operations ended as of Monday.

“Umicore manufactures catalytic converts and/or parts for the automobile industry,” according to the Office. The plant will officially be closed in late June.

“The speed and vast impact of the outbreak has been unprecedented. More specifically, the COVID19 pandemic has had a significant impact on the automotive business in the United States, placing unforeseen consequences on the North American automotive industry,” wrote Barry Anderson, Site Manager in a letter to the state.

“We initially believed this was going to be short-term when employees were furloughed on April 1, 2020 following the Governor’s March 31, 2020 business closure order. However, the disruption of the automotive industry has extended beyond the indications initially available when the furlough began. While the Governor has a phased plan to begin reopening businesses, it now is apparent that our business and the business of our customers will be impacted for an elongated period of time,” he added.

Source: Workforce Development