Dalton switches owners, lays off workers
Around sixty Kosciusko County workers are without jobs this week after the Warsaw Dalton Foundry changed owners.
New Dalton LLC now owns the Warsaw Foundry and three other Dalton properties around Indiana. The Warsaw location of the Dalton corp. was originally founded in 1910 with only 25 employees. Before the recent layoffs, the company employed over 250 people.
“After the buyout they tried to cut back and I was let go,” said Charlie Murphy, one of the Dalton employees who was dismissed. “The cut backs happened in two phases,” with the latest phase occurring over the last few weeks.
Some of the employees terminated were members of the United Steel Workers Local 6805.
“Times are tough and they don’t have the orders they used to,” said Murphy. “They’re trying to make the man power affordable.”
Many of the workers let go had worked there for many years, including Murphy who had worked for Dalton for over 40 years.
“It gets in your blood,” said Murphy. “There’s a lot of fond memories. I’ve seen a lot of changes, and most for the good.”
This isn’t the first time the Warsaw foundry has been under new ownership. Ownership changes were made in 1998 and also 1985.