A Saratoga County factory that employs 400 people is closing in May, and local officials are preparing.
The printing company Quad says it’s consolidating its resources at plants in Wisconsin, Georgia, and Massachusetts.
406 employees at the Saratoga Springs facility will be laid off between March 2nd and May 4th.
Saratoga Economic Development Corporation President Greg Connors says his organization is prioritizing the needs of the hundreds of impacted workers and their families.
“I’m very pleased to report that Saratoga County Workforce Development Department is taking a leadership role in getting all of this organized and getting an efficient operation that includes many of the employers throughout the Capital Region to help accomplish that goal – we don’t want anyone to leave. So, we’ll be focused on that in the very near term,” explained Connors.
According to an email obtained by The Daily Gazette, Quad is offering many of the employees at the Saratoga Springs facility options to relocate to other facilities.
Connors says the effort to support and retain as many of the workers in New York is a team effort.
“Well, it’s a full court press. I mean, government officials, the private sector, Global Foundaries has stepped up and has volunteered to support the county’s effort to organize a job fair, and resume building. And I know that Quad Graphics is making available to their employees who will not be offered positions at other Quad facilities, you know, some training and workforce development opportunities as well,” said Connors.
Saratoga Springs Mayor John Safford, a Republican who took office with the new year, says that while the change will be gradual, his office is ready to help in whatever way it can.
“It’s going to be a phase out over the next 3 or 4 months. And during that time we’re bringing to bear every facility and every support service at the county and at the city to address the needs of these families. And we are confident that this economy will be able to pick up those jobs,” said Safford.
Saratoga Springs Finance Commissioner Minita Sanghvi says the city will be assessing how the closure will impact finances and property taxes with help from the SEDC as well as county officials.
“Whenever a company leaves, it’s always sad for the community because those are not just jobs. They are people who live in our community. They are people who go to our schools. Everybody, you know, is involved. People lose friends, and so on and so forth. So, we’re hoping that we can attract new investments so we can absorb some of those jobs eventually,” said Minita.
Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce President Todd Shimkus says while his team is working on helping Quad employees, the closure is a part of a troubling, growing trend in the region.
“You think of some other announcements in the area. It started with Lehigh Cement in Glens Falls — that closed after being there for, I don’t know, a hundred years. You had Essity that recently closed. And AngioDynamics is in the process of closing their facility in Queensbury. Essity is in South Glens Falls. And you’ve got Quad. So, there are four manufacturers who have made a decision to relocate local operations to some other state,” said Shimkus.
Shimkus says local officials will eventually need to bring their concerns to the state level to help fight the exodus of industry.
“So, we’ve gotta get the data. We’ve gotta prove whether it’s taxes or energy costs or regulations or whatever it might be that differentiates us in a bad way so that we can change that,” explained Shimkus.
