>Solar-panel company lays off 40 employees
BY KRIS TURNER
BLADE BUSINESS WRITER
Willard & Kelsey Solar Group LLC laid off about 40 people indefinitely at the beginning of January until changes to its production line are completed, a company official said Monday.
Michael Cicak, the company’s chief executive officer and chairman of the board, would not say when the changes would be completed or when the laid-off employees could return to work.
“We have some technical people in here improving the efficiency of the assembly line,” Mr. Cicak said, adding that the Perrysburg-based facility still has about 30 employees.
He said Willard & Kelsey has a little more than 80 employees when it’s fully functional.
The start-up company has been plagued by a series of production and staffing delays since it was formed in 2008. It has received millions of dollars in government loans and tax breaks and has been toured by high-profile officials such as Vice President Joe Biden, U.S. Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis, and former Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland.
https://www.toledoblade.com/Energy/2012/01/17/Solar-panel-company-lays-off-40-employees.html
