Canon Virginia laid off 55 employees from its Newport News manufacturing plant earlier this week, a spokesperson confirmed.
The layoffs, which constitute less than 6% of the plant’s workforce, affected salaried employees across the organization, spokesperson Rhonda Bunn said in an email.
“A very difficult decision to lay employees off was primarily due to economic challenges and overall slower growth this year,” Bunn said.
The affected employees will receive severance pay and benefits, Bunn said.
Canon’s Newport News plant employs around 1,000 people, Bunn said. The plant employed as many as 2,300 people in the mid-1990s, according to Daily Press reporting, but that number has declined over the years.
Opening in 1987, the plant currently manufactures printer cartridges and other accessories and provides reverse manufacturing services for Canon copiers, printers and cameras, according to the Canon website.
Canon’s printing division increased sales by 3.2% in 2023 compared with the previous year, according to the company’s annual report. However, demand for products in general lagged “due to tight monetary policies associated with inflation, the sluggish Chinese and European economy, and increasing uncertainty surrounding geopolitical risks.”
Canon Virginia has set goals of increasing growth and profitability, maintaining existing market share and developing new business partnerships, Bunn said.
Trevor Metcalfe, 757-222-5345, trevor.metcalfe@pilotonline.com