Motor Maker To Lay Off 56 Workers In Paragould

Electric motor maker Nidec laid off 56 of its roughly 380 workers at its factory in Paragould on Friday.

The Paragould Daily Press reports that a company spokesman said that a slowdown in orders led to the layoffs.  Nidec manufactures electric motors for appliances such as washing machines and dryers. The depressed housing market has reduced sales.

When asked if more layoffs are expected here, Polzin said, “We can’t predict the future or how the market is going to perform. So we are focused on how we can best assist the employees affected by this reduction and how to best serve our customers. Our customers are reducing their rates of production, and we can only produce the motors they require.”

Nidec bought the Paragould factory from Emerson Electric in August 2010. Nidec is based in Kyoto, Japan, and is about an $8 billion precision manufacturer of small- and medium-sized motors and fans for IT-consumer electronics, automobiles, home appliances and industrial applications.

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