Photo: Bill Shaw/WTIU News
Employees' work hours are being cut at the Cummins Fuel Systems Plant.
Columbus-based engine manufacturer Cummins has shortened the work week for its unionized employees.
Cummins says 350 of the 512 workers at its Fuel Systems Plant in Columbus will be affected. They will work 32 hours a week over four days instead of the normal 40 hour, five-day work week.
Cummins spokesperson Jon Mills says the company made the decision because of a decrease in demand.
“We’ve done other things like reduce travel, try to find ways throughout the enterprise to reduce costs,” he says.
Under the contract the company has with the Diesel Workers Union, it can also shut the plant down for as many as 30 days a year. Cummins has already used eight shutdown days this year at the Fuel Systems Plant, but this is the first time a shutdown has affected more than half of the plant’s employees.
The move also comes after Cummins announced a hiring freeze last month.
