Second shift apparently will be a thing of the past at Flexsteel Industries Inc.'s Dubuque flagship factory.The furniture maker cut the 10 remaining positions on that shift, along with 23 first-shift workers, on Tuesday and Wednesday - the latest in a series of reductions ata company engaged in anindustrywide battle with a hostile economy.Mark Cook said the layoffs amount to nearly one- fourth of the remaining workers at the Dubuque factory, dropping the work force to fewer than 150 hourly employees. It was an operation that in its heyday employed more than 600 workers, according to Cook, business manager of United Steel Workers of America Local 1861- U.The layoffs were in thevehicle seating division and the metal division, which makes Flexsteel springs."With economic conditions, business conditions and consumer confidence being at an all-time low, it still continues to be a tough market and we're constantly having to evaluate our position," said Flexsteel spokesman Justin Mills.Although Cook has heard about the layoffs of one or two workers and recent cost-saving measures like shortened work weeks, he said this week's larger-scale job reductions caught him off guard."I had no clue this was coming," said Cook, who wasn't sure whether Flexsteel is considering eliminating some salaried workers as well.Mills said there are not anyadditional layoffs planned in the "foreseeable future" as the company rides out the tough times."We're very optimistic and we're well positioned in the markets we serve that, when business conditions do improve, we'll be able to capture the market share," he said.Although Flexsteel was experiencing a downturn before economic conditions soured, Mills said recent months have been driving the need for job reductions.In September, Flexsteel announced plans to close its New Paris, Ind., recreational vehicle seating production plant and to end manufacturing operations at its Lancaster, Pa., facility.In Dubuque, the company cut 10 jobs in August and 21 jobs in June, following a profit decline of 44 percent and sales drop of5.7 percent in the third quarter of its fiscal year.Flexsteel's woes are a common theme across the nation's furniture manufacturers, Mills said.La-Z-Boy Inc. this week announced it is cutting 850 jobs, amounting to about 10 percent of its work force. This summer, the Monroe, Mich.-based company closed a plant in Utah, eliminating more than 600 jobs.Mills noted that Flexsteel's stock price has held somewhat steady compared to other furniture makers. The stock closed down more than 5 percent at $7.31 Wednesday.La-Z-Boy closed at $3.16, down more than 36 percent, and Furniture Brands International Inc. fell more than 14 percent, to $2.89.Plummeting gas prices eventually will provide some relief on costs, although Mills said the company has yet to realize any substantial gains from the declines."It also takes a little bit of time for that to rebound," he said. "And a lot of things are still high, groceries and other things."Cook agreed, noting that furniture is a somewhat discretionary purchase for many in the current economic climate."People right now are deciding what's more important, food or medicine as opposed to going out and buying more furniture. As soon as the job situation gets more secure, then people will start to look at changing furnishings in their house," he said.- The Associated Presscontributed.

Originally published by EILEEN MOZINSKI TH staff writer/emozinski@wcinetcom.

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