Updated at 5:19 p.m.
GlobalFoundries has begun laying off employees at its massive plant in Essex Junction.
“As communicated in early December, we have begun the process of notifying impacted employees at our Burlington, Vermont, site and plan to complete these notifications by the end of this week,” Gina DeRossi, a spokesperson for GlobalFoundries, said in an email to VTDigger.
DeRossi declined to say how many Vermont employees are losing their jobs.
The Essex Junction plant, which was operated for decades by IBM, is the largest private employer in Vermont, with more than 2,000 employees and 800 contractors. Worldwide, the semiconductor manufacturer employs about 14,000 people.
The company said previously that it would lay off about 800 people worldwide, or about 5.7% of its employees. The company’s chief executive officer, Thomas Caulfield, said last month that the company would have to cut $100 million in costs next year in anticipation of a decline in demand for semiconductors as the world economy slows down.
Dustin Degree, deputy commissioner of the Vermont Department of Labor, said the department has not been formally notified of layoffs by GlobalFoundries, but he said the company has been in contact with members of Gov. Phil Scott’s administration regarding layoffs.
“We expect to receive official, detailed communication of this action required under state and federal notice statutes in the coming days,” Degree said. He said the company has not communicated how many people are being laid off at the Essex Junction plant. If the company were to lay off 5.7% of its Essex Junction employees, approximately 114 people could lose their jobs.
An employee at the plant told VTDigger that layoffs are being announced department by department, with no overall number of layoffs at the plant being released to employees.
That employee and two others spoke to VTDigger on the condition of anonymity out of fear of retribution for speaking about their employer.
“It’s basically coming down manager by manager,” the first employee said, noting there were three layoffs in their department. “Apparently, we’re not allowed to know (about) any other departments, who got laid off.”
“This has cratered morale at the company,” the employee said.
The second employee reported being one of two people laid off in a different department.
“Everybody is on pins and needles and it really kind of hurts the work,” said the second employee. “It slows everything down. Nobody feels like working.”
The employee said people who are laid off have been told they will be paid until March, at which time they will receive two weeks of severance pay for each year of service, up to a maximum of 26 weeks.
But employees who were laid off had to leave their jobs immediately.
“They walked me out,” the second employee said. “I tried to get on my email to send all my friends a note and say how nice it was to work with them and they’d already taken away my email account.”
The third employee questioned whether layoffs were the best way to cut costs.
“Instead of letting people go, why not ask ‘Who wants to work part time?’” the employee asked. “It’s horrible timing. Merry Christmas! You’re laid off!”
In October, U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., visited the Essex Junction plant as the company announced it had secured $30 million in federal funding to develop advanced semiconductors at the plant.
Leahy released a statement on the latest development Tuesday.
“Like all Vermonters, I am always concerned when I hear news of layoffs in Vermont,” Leahy said. “Far too often jobs that leave the state ultimately do not come back. Unfortunately, current economic conditions are causing global demand issues everywhere across multiple industries, including in Vermont. It is still very difficult news, especially with the upcoming holidays.”