One of the Greatbatch Medical facilities in Clarence is closing, which means the loss of around 120 jobs.
Greatbatch is owned by Integer Holdings Corp.
The affected Clarence site is on Barton Road and employs mostly "tool and die" machinists. "Tool and die" is a specialty manufacturing job that encompasses people who who make jigs, fixtures, dies, molds, machine tools, cutting tools, gauges, and other tools used in the manufacturing process.
The Barton Road site currently represents 12% of Greatbatch's workforce in WNY.
Aside from the Barton Road facility, the company has a corporate office on Wherle Drive in Clarence, which has 240 employees, and two other manufacturing facilities -- one in Alden with 355 employees and another in Orchard Park with 270 employees.
“Decisions like these do not come easily, especially when they involve our associates,” Thomas Hook, president and chief executive officer of Integer, Greatbatch's parent company, said in a statement to Buffalo Business First.
“After considerable study, we determined that shifting production to sites with capacity for growth will optimize our existing operating infrastructure, and best serve our customers for the long term.”
Integer said it would assist affected employees with the transition, and a spokeswoman for Greatbatch said Barton Road employees are being encouraged to apply for jobs at the other local manufacturing facilities.
It will taken between a year and a year and a half for the closure process to be completed.
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