The company that replaced Dupont Photomasks in the town of Poughkeepsie, Schott Lithotec, has shuttered. Workers arrived April 25 to learn the company had closed its doors for good after five years in business.
Company President Patrick Markschlaeger said the facility would not reopen. The closure does not affect Schott Lithotec”™s American headquarters in Elmsford, where 55 employees oversee the firm”™s additional 2,000 American workers at other sites.
Markschlaeger specifically cited “overcapacity in the market for the products we produce here,” which are based on “mask blank” technology, or microlithography. He said the worldwide glut exceeded 30 percent, dooming the facility.
The Dutchess County Economic Development Corp. and others are helping more than 70 displaced employees find new jobs.
Some of the Schott workers previously worked for Dupont Photomask, which closed in 2002. There had been rumblings of trouble among Schott workers, although the final closing came suddenly, according to Anne Conroy, president and CEO of the Dutchess County Economic Development Council (DCEDC).
County Executive William Steinhaus called for the immediate formation of a response team to assist impacted individuals and their families. Along with the DCEDC, the Dutchess County Workforce Investment Board, the New York State Department of Labor and Dutchess Community College are pitching in to help Schott”™s employees find suitable jobs.
Other human service agencies, including the county Department of Social Services and the county Department of Mental Hygiene are doing their parts where needed.
Conroy said, “Schott had put a major investment into the firm, and they hoped it would work out. It just became clear it wasn”™t going to be a typical cyclical downturn. They decided to end it, rather abruptly, but employees had already been concerned about the future of the company.”
There”™s a bright lining in the cloud, however. “The good news is these are talented employees who are highly trained and experienced,” Conroy said. “Connections are already being made with other technology-based businesses that are in the process of hiring or going to be hiring in the near future. These are marketable employees,” says Conroy. “We have a solid economy here in Dutchess, so there are good prospects for employment.”
