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Layoffs As Ascend Performance Materials Cantonment Facility Cuts Workforce
October 11, 2024
Ascend Performance Materials has cut their workforce at their Cantonment plant, but the plant will continue to play a vital role as the company moves forward.
“Our nylon manufacturing facility in Cantonment is the largest integrated nylon manufacturing site in the world and is a critical source of durable, high-quality materials that make modern life possible,” Osama Khalifa, Ascend director of corporate communications and government affairs, told NorthEscambia.com in an email Thursday afternoon. “Unfortunately, we have faced a challenging market due to lower demand for vehicles, housing and consumer goods globally over the past two years. This market has forced us to make some difficult decisions, including an adjustment in our workforce in Cantonment over the past few months.”
Khalifa said the Ascend plant in Cantonment has operated for 70 years, and “it is a critical part of the global supply of nylon and will continue to play an important role in that market for generations to come.”
The company did not disclose the number of layoffs at the plant over the past few months, or address if there would be additional layoffs. According to data from economic development authority FloridaWest, Ascend was the sixth largest employer in Escambia County with 1,288 employees.
In 2022, Ascend invested over $80 million at the Cantonment plant to improve safety and reliability.
NorthEscambia.com file photos, click to enlarge.
Comments
22 Responses to “Layoffs As Ascend Performance Materials Cantonment Facility Cuts Workforce”
REGARDING:
“This problem will only be solved ONE WAY!
On November 5th vote for XXXXXX and MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!”
America has never stopped being great. That’s why so many want to come here. We are so wonderful.
How would voting in a long time crook who could never concentrate on his job last time and frequently shows signs of dementia improve things? He spent his last term kissing up to dictators, dodging criminal investigations, pardoning his felons, ignoring pandemic threats, disrespecting our services and their sacrifices for our freedom, lying about his losses and failures, ignoring global threats, selling out to other countries, stealing government property, just being himself.
None of which made America better.
Republicans HAD decent potential candidates who COULD have gotten elected without shame but chose him instead.
Let him eat cat since he can’t stomach crow.
I worked there 47 years, the company got greedy and ignored training good employees that are the Life of the Plant. Went up on prices instead of putting money into the plant
Sadly “give me a break” all the stats you brought up are post pandemic the jobs your claiming were made are literally jobs that were lost during pandemic. If what u say was true and those jobs were after all pandemic layoffs filled and not counted you wouldn’t see hiring signs everywhere. Plus you quoted 2021 stats they weren’t able to hire back the workforce that they laid off. 3.8 million by 2033 won’t equal what was lost. Work is being sent over seas you should probably listen more cause who stated the china stuff knows a lot more about this particular plant than you do. People get jobs at places like this to retire from them. Can say from experience it sucks coming in everyday not knowing if you’ll have a job. If you work out here and it isn’t crossing your mind often you’re lying to urself. Management is the biggest issue for ascend.
Thankx Uncle Joe…
Very terrible situation for the folks at Ascend.
For the last 3ish years, every morning when I boot-up my PC there
seems to be at least one news article about another company filing for bankruptcy.
There’s only ONE ANSWER that will solve this problem!
It’s not: “Unions” or “cutting CEO SALARIES” to cover payrolls.
This problem will only be solved ONE WAY!
On November 5th vote for Donald Trump and MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!
@Scott
…or we use an alternative to nylon.
Well now Kayla what parts of your everyday life can you do without if they get rid of nylon? Seatbelts in your car, zip ties, oven bags, safe dashes in your car, airbags in your car? Just to name a very few products made from nylon. When people wish to get rid of things to save the environment supposedly all they gotta do is figure out what they can do without. Go to horse and buggy. Tell FLP to turn ya power off. Tell the grocery stores to stop taking deliveries of food from truckers. Then when you get what you’re asking for, complain because you were ignorant of what you’ve asked for. Sit in the dark with the kids. No more tvs either. Many parts are made with nylon. Too many people have no clue.
Actually Mr Jackson is right. Shipping costs are way up thanks to high energy cost. Warehousing your materials got more expensive and to top it off they sent people to show companies in china how things were made here. Talk about working yourself out of a job. So cheap labor overseas without having a tax or something on these cheap made products coming into the country kills Americans jods plain and simple. Do keep telling yourself the same lie that your being spoon fed and keep your heads in the sand because your to afraid to go against the grain and say enough is enough.
# common sense makes life easier
@Rasheed Jackson
Industries started moving overseas when Reagan was president.
It has nothing to do with unions or how much CEOs makes. Read the article. There just isn’t as much demand for the product the plant makes. The economy has been poor for a few years, so people haven’t had money to spend. Union or no union, overpaid CEO or fairly paid CEO, if there isn’t a market for your product, you can’t just keep making the product. You can cherry pick whatever stats you want, but this is empirical evidence of the state of our current economy. It isn’t good.
Politics aside, the economy has gone down the drain, prices are spiraling out of control.
Businesses are “Closing” everywhere.
What a legacy we’re leaving for our children.
We all need to look hard as to why this is happening and turn it around, we can’t let employers like Ascend go out of business.
This is one reason why the south needs to reunionize. I don’t care for either party. But I truly believe in unions and what unions are for. Everyone’s scared to stand up to employers and what employees are deserving of.
REGARDING:
“Perhaps if the CEO & CFO took a pay cut some jobs could be saved.”
Or possibly ALL jobs would be lost if they went elsewhere.
The human brain takes up about 30% of the body’s total energy but few people can survive without a brain, so maybe it’s worth it. Companies go bankrupt every day and quite often it’s because the folks at the top weren’t thinking or didn’t know how to respond to the changing world.
It’s been a joke for years. Management comes and goes. They shutdown a very vital part of the plant, the fab shop,machine shop,and sheet metal. So now they out source everything, which is one of the main problems out there. Still some great workers out and a couple of good leaders after that it’s a buttload of crap.
Truth be told Nylon is toxic to us and I’d like to see a world without Nylon. This kinda “layoff” gives companies a bad name and I hope they see the effects of it the future. No one wants to work for an unreliable company just like companies don’t want an unreliable employee. Shame on them for so this to people in this economy.
A couple of facts for you, Mr. Jackson.
1. Since 2020, manufacturing construction project spending has tripled.
2. Since 2021, US manufacturing has added 750,000 jobs and is projected to add 3.8 million by 2033.
Hardly “industries outsourcing too (sic) overseas companies.”
Yea was part of that 80 million dollar shut down
What a joke that was
Out of town workers leaving in the middle of a job not finishing trashed up the plant . Whoever makes the big decisions out there shouldn’t be making decisions
It will always be open because if it ever closes it will be a super site 70 yrs of chemicals don’t just go away. Many of us have heard the stories from our parents or friends parents that worked there growing up.
Hire managers with no ties to Pensacola…managers who fired every three years so go from place to place.
Ignore the wisdom of the experienced, long term employees, implement drastic changes, get fired, and leave us locals with your trash decisions.
Perhaps if the CEO & CFO took a pay cut some jobs could be saved.
We have seen two major employers in our area cutting their work force. Are we starting to see the effects of the print, borrow, and spend policies of the present administration, on our manufacturing. Interest rates are high Inflation is high, increased corporate tax rates, and increased regulations, all are contributing factors to industries outsourcing too overseas companies, and all, except the regulation are a result of the overspending by our government.
Do they still make nylon yarn for carpet? If so this news doesn’t surprise me. I know Masland in Atmore has pretty much closed its doors.