Robinson Construction has laid off 80 employees at a construction site in Bloomfield, citing “unforeseeable business circumstances” related to COVID-19, according to a notice filed with the state.
According to Robinson president Paul Findlay, the decision to lay off the workers — some of whom are local to Perry County — was made out of a sense of caution.
“We probably had 150 people working there,” Findlay said Friday, explaining that, in conjunction with their client, they felt the need cut down the number of workers to help protect them as best as possible from the virus.
“We want to protect our workers as much as we can,” Findlay said.
The project affected is underway at a facility operated by Nestle Purina Pet Care, outside of Bloomfield.
Findlay told the Republic-Monitor that, as would be expected, the project will take a little longer to complete with fewer people working, but said Nestle agreed with the decision.
“We don’t want anyone to get sick, but with that many people in such close quarters, it could happen,” Findlay said.
According to the notice filed with the state, Robinson Construction said it is “hopeful” that the layoffs will be temporary, but it is possible that it may go on six months or more.
The list of workers affected includes apprentices, carpenters, pipe fitters, welders and ironworkers.
Findlay said Friday that the company is exploring options to reassign the workers to other projects.
Findlay said Friday that most of the office staff in Perryville are working from home, but that some go into the office periodically to complete specific tasks, such as payroll or dealing with accounts.
“I’m still going to the office every day,” Findlay said.
Robinson Construction, which began as a one-man plumbing and heating company in 1947, is headquartered in Perryville and specializes in construction management, EPC, design-build, and general contracting services to a variety of specialized markets, ranging from commercial and institutional to government and public projects in a number of areas including energy, food and beverage, healthcare, heavy civil/water, industrial manufacturing, marine, and mining.
To date, the company has completed projects in nearly 50 states.
