03.23.20
Lydall announced the ramp-down of its manufacturing facilities in Hamptonville and Yadkinville, NC; Meinerzhagen, Germany; and St. Nazaire, France, in response to a number of Lydall’s largest automotive OEM customers having temporarily ceased operations due to the impact of the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic on the global economy. As a result of these actions and a government-mandated shutdown in Pennsylvania, more than 500 U.S. employees will be laid off and nearly 500 employees in Europe have been asked to stay home.
“The decision to ramp-down production at these facilities was not made lightly,” says Sara A. Greenstein, Lydall’s president and chief executive officer. “It was driven by a sharp and immediate decrease in customer demand from the automotive industry and was necessary for the sustainability of our business.”
Lydall is offering support and resources to the employees affected by these actions, including guidance on receiving unemployment or other social benefits.
“Although we are dealing with an unprecedented event in terms of size, scope and scale, we are cautiously optimistic that this is a short-term crisis from which we will recover,”. Greenstein adds. “While we are quickly responding to the change in demand of our automotive customers, other parts of our business remain stable. Our China operations for all three business segments are seeing an increase in orders and a majority of our employees are back at work.
“To ensure adequate liquidity, we have contingency plans in place, are focused on minimizing operational expenses, strong working capital management and have drawn $20 million on our existing credit facility. We are confident that by making these tough and necessary decisions early on we are better positioned to navigate further uncertainties and business disruptions caused by COVID-19."
“The decision to ramp-down production at these facilities was not made lightly,” says Sara A. Greenstein, Lydall’s president and chief executive officer. “It was driven by a sharp and immediate decrease in customer demand from the automotive industry and was necessary for the sustainability of our business.”
Lydall is offering support and resources to the employees affected by these actions, including guidance on receiving unemployment or other social benefits.
“Although we are dealing with an unprecedented event in terms of size, scope and scale, we are cautiously optimistic that this is a short-term crisis from which we will recover,”. Greenstein adds. “While we are quickly responding to the change in demand of our automotive customers, other parts of our business remain stable. Our China operations for all three business segments are seeing an increase in orders and a majority of our employees are back at work.
“To ensure adequate liquidity, we have contingency plans in place, are focused on minimizing operational expenses, strong working capital management and have drawn $20 million on our existing credit facility. We are confident that by making these tough and necessary decisions early on we are better positioned to navigate further uncertainties and business disruptions caused by COVID-19."