News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Weitech, Inc. of Sisters laid off 11 production employees last week.
According to company president Todd Weitzman, most of those laid off were recent hires, brought on board as the company was "ramping up" to roll out large quantities of its electronic pest control devices late last year.
"We had more capacity than we needed," Weitzman told The Nugget. "We could not support all the people we had in production."
The layoff was the first in the history of the 12-year-old Sisters company. The cut represents a 20 percent reduction of production line employees, from 50 to 39. The company eliminated a graveyard shift and scaled back its day shift.
The company currently employs more than 80 people (after the cuts), up from 60 employees a year ago, according to Weitzman.
The layoffs sparked a spate of rumors in Sisters, as residents wondered whether one of the city's most successful companies had hit hard times.
Some believed that the company had been sold to Japanese investors. That turned out to be untrue.
The layoff appears to mark a transition for the company from explosive growth in an untapped market to slower growth in a market increasingly crowded with similar products made by big-name companies.
Weitech virtually created a market for its products, which use electronic devices to repel pests ranging from insects to birds to rodents. The company grew exponentially as major retailers such as Costco and Home Depot started carrying its products.
Now, Weitzman says, major brand names such as Sunbeam have jumped into the marketplace.
"We created a niche," Weitzman said. "We are the market leader. It's now becoming an accepted category where nearly every major retailer has a product in their stores.
"When you've got shelf space at a major retailer, that attracts competition."
While the company continues to forecast growth, competition means that Weitech is having more products manufactured overseas, where labor is cheaper, but factory production remains of high-quality.
"We are getting more product and more components made in China, for us," Weitzman said.
Weitzman said that the company will always manufacture products at its Sisters facility, but individual products will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis to determine whether it is more cost effective to manufacture them in China.
What impact the Asian manufacturing will have on employment levels in Sisters remains to be seen, according to Weitzman.
"I'm very proud of the jobs we provide," Weitzman acknowledged. "As a business person, these decisions are very difficult to make, because they affect people's lives."
But in the face of stiffening competition, Weitzman indicated, more jobs would be under the gun if the company does not maintain its profitability.
"The harsh reality is that this is going to be a better company to work for for the people who are still here than if we kept all the jobs and were unprofitable," he said.
Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.
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