MACON, Ga. — More than 100 people are out of a job in Sandersville. Trojan Battery announced the temporary job cuts this week.
The Sandersville plant is one of the city's biggest employers, but about 135 people are now searching for something else.
"It kind of touched a lot of people hard," said Shipping Administrator Willie Carswell.
Carswell said it all happened in a staff meeting with an unexpected ending.
"It was an immediate thing that a lot of people were not aware of," he said.
The layoffs were effective immediately. Trojan says they're supposed to be temporary and shouldn't last more than six months. Carswell had the task of boosting his team's morale.
"We talked. We basically talked to one another. Encouraged one another to stay strong. Encouraged one another that we'll get back on the right track. We've got a great plant manager," he said.
Carswell says sales are down worldwide and thinks that's the cause for the layoffs. He's hopeful management will get them out of this.
"I'm quite sure our plant manager will get that done for us here in Sandersville, Georgia," Carswell said.
For now, the rest of the staff enjoys a long weekend to decompress before returning to work.
"We were basically off on Thursday and Friday to bounce back. But we are back to normal operation on Monday morning," Carswell said.
He says they're down to one shift for now, but once they start bringing people back, they'll return to three shifts daily.
Trojan says they're committed to bringing everyone back to work as soon as possible. They say they're working to give resources and information to everyone affected to help them get through the layoff period.
You can read Trojan's whole statement here:
"As a result of challenging business conditions and circumstances impacting operations, Trojan Battery Company ("Trojan") has made the difficult decision to temporarily lay off some of our workforce at the Trojan facility in Sandersville, Georgia. Approximately 135 employees will be affected by what is currently planned as a temporary layoff not to exceed six months in duration. Trojan is working to provide information and resources to the displaced employees and has implemented procedures to notify and recall workers as soon as possible."