Layoffs planned at Corning’s Wilmington plant

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — A number of employees at Corning’s Wilmington plant will soon be out of a job.

The company has confirmed layoffs are planned in the coming weeks.

Joe Dunning, with Corning Corporate Communications, said the number of impacted workers make up a very small percentage of the workforce at the Wilmington facility, but would not provide details on the exact number of impacted employees citing competitive reasons.

Dunning said the company did not file a WARN Notice since the number of impacted employees is under the threshold. The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act requires employers to provide 60 days advance written notice of a mass layoff affecting 50 or more employees.

Layoffs will begin on January 16. Corning said employees were notified of pending layoffs on December 5 and 6.

Dunning said benefits continuation will be offered.

In 2013, Corning Optical Fiber laid off around 250 employees worldwide, including jobs in Wilmington.

According to the NC Department of Commerce, Corning employs 1,700 people and is New Hanover County’s 11th largest employer.