Orion lays off 40 as part of transition

MANITOWOC – Orion Energy Systems will lay off 40 people at its plant, administrative offices and technology center on Woodland Drive.

“When you are winding down an old business and building a new one ... you need a different set of people doing different things,” said CEO John Scribante. “The issues we face today are far more complex.

“What I told these (laid off) workers today, was that this is not about their loyalty but a different business model going forward,” Scribante said, noting the lighting systems manufacturer will provide financial and other assistance to cushion the blow.

On behalf of Orion, Scribante is going virtually all in on continued development and sales of LED — light emitting diode — products for industrial and commercial use.

Since company formation nearly 20 years ago, Orion had built its business model around high intensity fluorescent lighting promising customers twice the light at half the price.

But Scribante said fluorescent is “archaic technology” developed in the late 1930s.

So, while Orion continues to produce “4-foot bent metal” fixtures saving electrical power costs of customers across the U.S., it is not the technology that will potentially provide job security for the 203 employees, 59 on the manufacturing floor, remaining after the cutback.

— Charlie Mathews writes for Herald Times Reporter Media, Manitowoc.