Three companies plan to cut nearly 900 jobs in Minnesota

Another day brings with it another round of layoffs. Three companies announced job cuts Friday that will affect hundreds of workers in Minnesota.

Cirrus Design Corporation informed employees that 50 administrative positions have been eliminated and nearly 100 furloughed workers will not be returning to work. This comes just days after most of the Duluth-based company's employees returned to the job after a month-long furlough.

Minneapolis-based G&K says it will lay off 340 workers and eliminate 120 open positions. The uniform maker says the cuts are due to dropping customer volume.

G&K, which also provides facility services, expects to save $14 million annually from the cuts. G&K employs 9,500 workers in North American and Europe.

And the town of Lewiston in southeastern Minnesota is reeling from job cuts at one of its largest employers. Herff Jones, which makes yearbooks and recognition items, is closing a photography lab which employs 275 people in Lewiston. The cuts will start in early March.

Herff Jones is consolidating its photography manufacturing in Charlotte, NC. The company is based in Indianapolis, with about 4,000 employees at 22 U.S. plants.

Cirrus vice president Bill King says the latest round of layoffs will give the company a more secure financial footing. "Our business model right now is we are in stronger financial position today than we were ninety days ago," says King. "Our objective now is that we make sure we stay healthy going into the first, second and third quarters of this year to launch and be ready to sustain this type of activity." Cirrus recently announced its cutting production from 12 planes to eight.

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