West Baton Rouge Parish officials are hopeful Trinity Marine Products might be able to land a large enough contract in the coming months to keep the Dallas-based firm from closing its Brusly plant on Nov. 30 as planned.
“In the past it has occurred where they announced layoffs, received a contract before the layoffs and all is well,” says Scott Gaudin, chairman of the West Baton Rouge Chamber of Commerce, adding this scenario has emerged more than once.
News of the pending plant closure and 283 subsequent job losses broke on Wednesday when a notice was sent by Trinity Marine Plant Manager Jerry Matchett to the Louisiana Workforce Commission. In the notice, Matchett says the layoffs will come in waves, with the first coming on Oct. 23, followed by subsequent rounds of layoffs on Oct. 30, Nov. 13 and Nov. 30.
The notice notes employees will have no bumping rights—by which a senior employee could replace a less senior employee in a position for which they’re both qualified—and employees should not expected to be recalled.
While the company did not disclose a reason for the closure in the notice on Wednesday, Trinity Industries spokesman Jack Todd tells Daily Report the closure is “primarily driven by the balancing of production among Trinity Marine’s four facilities across the country to better serve our customers and the market.”
Trinity Marine Products builds hopper, flat-deck and tank barges that are used to transport everything from grain to petroleum to chemicals and fertilizer along the waterways. Multiple people have already contacted Gaudin and West Baton Rouge Parish President Riley Berthelot to inquire about the availability of the waterfront property the plant occupies. Berthelot says the property the plant sits on is part of 730 acres owned by Trinity J. Inc., according to parish land records. That location along the Intercoastal Canal is a hot commodity because of its proximity to the locks near the Mississippi River.
The parish president says he has not spoken to company executives about the closure. The last time Trinity Marine announced the plant would be closing, about seven years ago, Berthelot says he received letter about the closure, only to have the company receive a contract about six months later and reopen the plant.
Both Gaudin and Berthelot say they believe the workers who will be laid off should not have any trouble finding work because of the plethora of businesses in that area looking for skilled laborers.
—Ryan Broussard
