VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Months after STIHL temporarily furloughed about 30% of its staff at its Virginia Beach facility, the outdoor power equipment manufacturer confirmed to 13News Now that a majority of those employees have since returned to work.
In a statement on Wednesday, a spokesperson for STIHL said 70% of the workers temporarily placed on leave back in August are back at work. Temporary furloughs still continue for a number of workers in select manufacturing areas, however.
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"Per the original plan, we are working towards having all production areas back and fully operational by year end," according to Melody Doleman, Sr. Vice President of Human Resources at STIHL.
The manufacturing company blamed "softening market conditions" for the temporary furlough that affected more than 1,000 people, which the company said would be lifted when there were "improvements in the market."
Impacted employees told 13News Now at the time that they were blindsided by the decision, saying a mass text message was sent midday and supervisors walked through the facility ordering people to leave.
Employees later received an email from STIHL that included a letter from the company's president and CEO, Chris Keffer, who said the furloughs would last between four and 16 weeks.
"While we have pulled every lever to improve our situation, the demand for outdoor power equipment remains low, and we still have excess inventory across all our distribution channels – in our warehouses, at our branches and distributors and at our dealers," Keffer said in the letter.
In an email in August, a spokesperson for the company said: "We are committed to supporting our affected employees during this time and will work tirelessly to return all employees to normal work status as soon as possible."
