Manufacturing layoffs planned in Kinston

Another mass layoff is in the offing for local workers, this time at the Kinston manufacturing plant of William Barnet & Son. The company is one of the oldest manufacturers in the country and has evolved into a global producer of synthetic materials.

The company late Friday notified the N.C. Department of Commerce that about 110 plant workers will lose their jobs in October as the company severely scales back operations. Since the extent of the layoffs is not clear, the company has warned all 163 employees that for personal planning purposes they should all assume their positions will be eliminated.

"This decision is mandated by a combination of conditions which are beyond our control," Ray Deane, plant general manager, wrote to the state commerce department.

William Barnet & Son was founded in 1898 in Albany, N.Y., and is now based in Arcadia, S.C. The Kinston plant, about an hour-and-a-half east of Raleigh, produces synthetic fibers and other engineered textiles. The plant also provides contract services of various textile processes. The materials are used in oil filters, housing products and industrial applications.

Positions targeted for elimination include managers, superintendents, supervisors, technicians and electricians. The list of machine operators evokes the state's fading manufacturing culture and its specialized vocabulary: tow wind operator, piddler operator, crimper operator, cutter operator, baler operator, scales operator and cluster/floc operator.

"Some of them have been with us for years," Deane said, adding that "10-20 years is probably in the average range."