Guilford, Maine-based Puritan Medical Products, a supplier of medical swabs, issued a WARN notice June 28 regarding the closure of its Portland, Tenn., manufacturing plant. The company has also made cuts in its home state, according to documents.
The Tennessee plant's closure affected 49 employees and an additional 223 employees in Maine have also been laid off, a spokesperson for Puritan confirmed to Becker's — 272 in total. The company has three manufacturing plants total, according to its website, two of which are based in Pittsfield, Maine. All locations in the company's headquarter state will remain open and operational, the spokesperson confirmed.
"Puritan will provide the affected employees with pay and benefits the employees would have received had they remained employed for sixty days following this notice," the company stated in the documents.
The permanent closures went into effect June 28.
The layoffs and closure were the result of what Puritan described as "adverse business conditions" linked to post-COVID demand for the products slowing, according to a June 28 news release shared with Becker's.
"The swiftness and significance of the post-COVID market correction has sustained and, while Puritan does not take these measures lightly, we feel that they are necessary," Bob Shultz, president, and chief financial officer of Puritan said in the release. "With these actions, we are committing to our Maine roots while making the necessary adjustments to optimize our operations in the current market."
The company is not expecting to make further layoffs or closures at this time, according to the release.
Editor's note: This story was updated July 11 at 4:58 p.m. CT to include additional information provided to Becker's by Puritan Medical Products and correct that a location in Maine will not close, which was previously stated in the article.