JACKSON - The latest Mississippi manufacturer to drastically cut back its operations will mean 624 layoffs in Indianola.
Modern Line Products Co., which makes outdoor and gardening equipment such as tillers and lawn mowers, is eliminating the manufacturing portion of its Indianola plant, the latest in a continuing flow of plant closings and reductions in the state since the first of the year.
More than 4,000 Mississippians have lost their jobs in the cuts. Those affected by Modern Line's decision likely will keep working until July.
"This is 25 percent to 35 percent of our economy when you figure payroll and jobs," said James Hutcherson, mayor of the small Delta town with about 12,000 residents.
Hutcherson said he was told the news by company officials Friday morning, shortly before they met with employees.
In a press release, Bill Harrington, vice president of southern operations, said he "hoped to accomplish this with the least possible disruption to the lives of the employees and the community."
A Modern Line spokeswoman in Ohio referred calls Monday to Harrington, who was traveling in Mississippi and unavailable for comment.
Modern Line, based in Cleveland, Ohio, will continue to use the Indianola facility as a warehouse and distribution center as well as a parts supplier to other plants. The company's brand names include Cub Cadet and Yard-Man.
Hutcherson said between 80 and 100 people will continue to work for Modern Line in Indianola. He said company officials told him the reason for the move was a slowing economy and a need to consolidate businesses - a common theme among other manufactures that have cut back in the state.
John Robertson, assistant vice president of regional research at the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, said the big reason that Mississippi is taking such a hit is the state's dependence on manufacturing jobs.
Many U.S. manufacturers have combined operations to maintain profitability while the economy has slowed in recent months.
Hutcherson said he hopes some of the former Modern Line employees can find work with catfish producers and large distribution centers in the area. The unemployment rate in Sunflower County in March was 9.5 percent.
"It's tough," he said. "Some of these people are going to have a hard time finding a job."
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