Marvin Cuts Production Hours

In an effort to avoid layoffs, Marvin Windows & Doors has scaled back its work week from 40 hours to 32 hours. About 3,200 employees at the company’s production facilities in Warroad, MN, and Grafton, ND, will be affected.

"Production is slow and we don't have enough production to keep all the production employees busy full-time, but it's important to keep our employees," Marvin’s public relations manager, John Kirchner, told the Grand Forks Herald newspaper. "We have to cut back on hours, but we certainly want to avoid layoffs."

The company isn’t sure when 40-hour works weeks will resume, but officials hope the cost-saving measure will be temporary.

In addition to production workers at the two plants, some corporate office employees will also face the scale back. The change to the schedule took effect this week.

Kirchner said while late winter and early spring are usually marked with decreased production demand, additional factors, such as weather conditions in certain parts of the country, have also contributed to the 20 percent cut in hours.

The company has not had to scale back the work week since 2003, he told the paper.