Colgate plant in Jeffersonville, IN has shutdown production

[Roland99]

WHAS 11 reporting hundreds of employees are worried the plant is closing. They are supposed to show up for a "major announcement" at 7:30am today.

The plant stopped production yesterday.

Ah, here's an article:

Colgate temporarily closed; holding employee meetings
http://www.whas11.com/topstories/stories/WHAS11_TOP_colgate.e230ab74.html

The Colgate plant is one of the oldest employers in southern Indiana. About 500 people work there making toothpaste, shaving cream and soap products. But now, the plant is quiet. It's shut down until Wednesday morning.

Last year, Colgate announced a major re-structuring plan that included laying off 12 percent of its national workforce or about 4400 employees. The plant also announced plans to close about one third of its factories.

The local union president, Larry Edwards, told WHAS11 News by phone that he didn't know what was going to happen. He said Colgate recently announced it would close a Kansas City plant by the end of next year.

Kenneth Coleman has worked in the glycerin plant for 22-years. "This here, I don't really know what's gonna happen but I'm eager and anxious to see just like everyone else is what they're going to tell us," Coleman says. "When I came to work, my normal shift is 3 to 11 and I came in and saw some coworkers who said, 'Hey, we're being sent home pending a meeting as far as the future of our plant.'"

[Roland99]

1. WHAS11 now reporting employees coming out saying the plant will close.

To be a phased shutdown ending in Jan. 2008.