Just over 2y after Corning Inc. sold an 80% stake in Steuben Glass to Schottenstein Stores Corp. of Ohio, the prestigious art glass subsidiary announced 24 Feb 2010 that it is restructuring & will begin laying off an undetermined number of employees during the summer. Steuben Glass's chief operating officer, Mark Samitt, said the plans were announced internally on 24 Feb. "We will be going through a restructuring program that will allow Steuben Glass to appeal to a wider customer base, provide quality products at a value & reposition the company to be profitable", Mr. Samitt said. Included in the program to be rolled out by mid-summer is the outsourcing of some existing products that will mean the loss of some current manufacturing jobs at Steuben Glass. Mr. Samitt said Steuben Glass employs about 100 workers. The number to be affected by layoffs will not be known until later in the year. Steuben Glass is working with Corning Inc. to provide opportunities for those who will lose their jobs. Like the hourly workers employed at Corning Inc.'s manufacturing operations, Steuben's hourly workers are represented by the United Steelworkers of America Local 1000. "We are planning to continue the plant operation and production in Corning after the restructuring, and Corning Inc. is supportive of the effort", Mr. Samitt said. Steuben Glass was sold in July 2008 because it lost USD 30 million over a five-year period and did not fit with Corning's high-tech industrial products portfolio. Those money problems, Mr. Samitt said, are apparently still at work.
