Jan. 24--WAVERLY -- Terex Cranes in Waverly announced about 150 employees are being laid off, as the effects of the global economic slowdown continue to seep into the Cedar Valley. The layoffs are due to a softening demand for the mobile cranes manufactured at the Waverly facility, according to a company statement released Friday.

The plant employed more than 350 people before the announced cuts. Many belong to the United Auto Workers local 411 in Waverly.

The plant in Waverly makes boom trucks, truck cranes and rough terrain cranes.

Employees got the news of the layoffs late Thursday. On Friday, Iowa Workforce Development officials already had started workshops and classes at the Waverly Public Library for Terex employees.

"Right now there are a lot of questions people have," said Aaron Sauerbrei, IWD regional manager. "We're working to put their minds at ease and help them find another job."

IWD will hold classes and workshops at the library for the laid-off workers through Thursday next week. Employees attending the classes also will be paid for the duration of the training. Staff from other agencies including Operation Threshold, Hawkeye Community College, the Department of Human Services, and the Northeast Iowa Food Bank will be on hand for some of the training. The main goal is to help the workers find employment, which Sauerbrei said will be difficult due to the current economic climate.

Providing that help also will be a challenge for Workforce Development. The IWD office in Waverly has been closed since flooding damaged the office in June last year.

Outside of the classes and workshops at the library, if people have follow-up questions and want to meet with staff, they'll have to drive to Waterloo, Sauerbrei said.

"We're trying to get (an office) there as soon as possible," he said.

The short notice is another challenge for the employees and those who are helping them adjust and find new jobs. Under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, a company must give workers a 60-day notice if it plans to cut 50 or more employees if the number makes up a third of the work force. However, 111 of the employees are part of a collective bargaining agreement and are subject to recall should the manufacturing pick back up. Most of the rest of those let go are support staff.

Jason Passmore, Waverly economic development director, said the layoffs can be traced to the credit crisis that has frozen most industries, including construction. The layoffs will have a large impact on the community, he added.

News of the layoffs follows reports that John Deere is reducing its construction manufacturing staff and Peoria, Ill.-based Caterpillar Inc. is set to announce slowed sales from the fourth quarter of 2008.

The Terex layoffs come less than two years after company stock rose to an all-time high and Terex unveiled its refurbished Bremer Avenue factory.

"Hopefully they'll be back to that," Passmore said.

Contact John Molseed at 291-1418 or john.molseed@wcfcourier.com.

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