Ameriwood furniture permanently lays off 80 due to Michigan COVID order
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DOWAGIAC, Mich. - Residential furniture and casegoods manufacturer Ameriwood has permanently laid off 79 employees because of the coronavirus pandemic.
 
“This reduction is a result of a significant downturn in our business and has become immediately necessary due to the halt in business caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the governor of Michigan’s 'Stay Home, Stay Safe' executive order, which has shut us down almost entirely," the company wrote in paperwork filed with the state April 13.
 
A sign in the shop's front entrance also reads: "We will be closed until the Governor says it's safe to re-open."
 
Of those employees, 76 are hourly production workers and three are salaried.
 
Woodworking is considered essential in Michigan, but with a disclaimer: The order must be construed broadly to prohibit in-person work that is not necessary to sustain or protect life.
 
Ameriwood parent Dorel, the third largest residential furniture maker on the FDMC 300, will repurpose the Ameriwood facility into a Midwest distribution and warehouse location.
 
Dorel runs multiple divisions, including Altra, Ameriwood, Cosco Home & Office, Dorel Asia, Dorel Home Products, Ridgewood, Carina, and SystemBuild. The company's annual sales were around $795 million in 2018. It runs five manufacturing plants throughout North America.
 
 

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Robert Dalheim

Robert Dalheim is an editor at the Woodworking Network. Along with publishing online news articles, he writes feature stories for the FDMC print publication. He can be reached at [email protected].