Schneider has layoffs after business surge
By Donna Barker
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dbarker@bcrnews.com
PRINCETON — L.W. Schneider Inc. remains a strong business in spite of recent layoffs, according to the company’s Chief Operating Officer Theresa Quezada.
On Tuesday, Quezada said the Princeton company hired well over 100 additional people in 2008 to handle the company’s increased sales and production needs, which more than doubled following the election of President Barack Obama.
The surge of business came because the gun industry feared the new president would put restrictions on the purchase of guns and gun control, company owner Lloyd Schneider said.
Quezada, who is Schneider’s daughter, said the additional employees were not needed as that surge tapered off. Layoffs began in late summer, with about 75 people affected.
“We knew after the election, when everything went crazy, that the surge would level off in time,” Quezada said Tuesday. “We knew the surge would be temporary, but we had to hire additional employees at that time to meet our customers’ demands.”
The company did not know how quickly the leveling would come, but it was expected, Quezada said. The layoffs were significantly less than the number of people hired in 2008, she said.
Most of Schneider’s customers, which include Colt and Smith & Wesson, are now consuming their own inventory stockpiles, no doubt due to general economy decline, Quezada said. However, she does expect Schneider’s business to increase next year as their customers’ need to restock their inventories.
“We know the recent layoffs looked pretty drastic, but you have to put it in context,” Quezada said. "We’re glad to communicate what’s really happening. We are in a very sound financial position. We just had to make some adjustments to stabilize. We have no intentions of eliminating any shifts and we don’t expect any more layoffs.”
L. W. Schneider Inc. has been in Princeton since 1979 and at its current site on Sixth Street since 1981. The company currently employees 175 people, with all three shifts going, Quezada said.
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