HEBRON, Ky.—A maker of rubber and plastics automotive parts has laid off more than 100 workers after seeing business deteriorate rapidly in the face of COVID-19.
Boge Rubber & Plastics USA L.L.C. informed the Kentucky Office of Employer and Apprenticeship Services that 117 employees temporarily were furloughed starting March 30. "These layoffs will continue indefinitely but are intended to be temporary and last less than six months," the company said in a letter to the state.
"We are taking these employment actions because COVID-19-related business circumstances that were not reasonably foreseeable. We would like to have given more notice of this action, but were unable to do so because of how quickly our operations were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic," the letter continued.
The company's product line includes hydraulic damping chassis suspension mounts and engine and transmission mounts. Boge also makes fiber-reinforced rubber-elastic coupling products used in various applications, including railways, ships, power plants, engines, transmissions and wind turbines.
On the plastics side, Boge produces thermoplastic components and modules.
The Hebron facility is part of the larger Damme, Germany-based Boge Rubber & Plastics Group. Along with the company's single site in the U.S., Boge also has 10 other locations in Germany, France, Slovakia, Brazil, China and Mexico.