Manitowoc Cranes informed state and local officials today that it plans to close its plant at 1190 Mineral Springs Dr. in Port Washington next year.
The closure of the plant will put 80 employees out of work. However, in a letter to state and local officials, Manitowoc Cranes vice president of operations Dan Kaltenbaugh said, “efforts are being made to offer alternate employment to affected employees at the Manitowoc Cranes manufacturing facility in Manitowoc.”
The layoffs of the Port Washington employees are scheduled to take place from June 2 to Aug. 1, 2016. None of the affected employees are represented by a union.
Manitowoc Cranes is a division of The Manitowoc Company Inc.
The company’s plans to close the Port Washington plant, are the latest in a growing list of plant closing announcements in the state. The Oscar Mayer plant in Madison will close, eliminating 1,000 jobs. A Tyson Foods plant in Jefferson will close, putting 400 people out of work. GE will shut down manufacturing operations in Waukesha, eliminating 350 jobs. Joy Global will close one of its Milwaukee plants, cutting 51 jobs. All of those plant closures were announced this year.
In addition, the ISM manufacturing index for the Milwaukee area has been in negative territory for eight months in a row.