Baldwin Piano & Organ Co. on Wednesday announced additional job cuts as the 140-year-old piano maker reorganizes itself under bankruptcy court protection.
Management said it eliminated 24 positions at Baldwin's Greenwood manufacturing plant, which is closing this month. The plant opened in 1964.
Last week, Baldwin cut 27 jobs at plants in Conway, Fayetteville and Trumann, Ark., as well as the corporate headquarters in Mason, 20 miles north of Cincinnati.
The job cuts reduce Baldwin's payroll by $3.3 million, management said.
Baldwin filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection May 31. The filing will allow Baldwin to continue operating while it develops a plan to put its finances in order and pay creditors.
Patsy Fontenot, national representative, for the International Chemical Workers Union Council/USCW, said only a few employees now remain at the Greenwood plant.
"They won't reduce the force to zero until they are not needed any longer," Fontenot said.
Baldwin has been paying those still working, but that is the only money being released by the company, Fontenot said. She said she hoped the latest group would be paid Friday but didn't know what to expect.
Baldwin, which is in court every week for bankruptcy proceedings, is not giving severance pay or vacation pay now, she said. The company had agreed in negotiations with the union to give the workers severance pay each week.
Fontenot said she would be speaking to the corporate human resources director today to obtain an update on the situation.
The company also announced the resignation of chief financial officer Duane Kimble, who joined Baldwin in 1998 under former chief executive officer Karen Hendricks.
Perry Schwartz, a former Baldwin chief financial officer, succeeds Kimble. Schwartz will be assisted by Financial Resource Associates Inc., a Cincinnati consulting company that specializes in corporate finance.
Senior executives who took over Baldwin in May said the company was burdened with excessive inventory, severance agreements and executive compensation commitments and had problems with internal controls.
