3 Ohio Companies Announce Layoffs, Building Closures

MEDINA, OH — Three Ohio companies filed notices with the state of impending layoffs and furloughs this week.

As first-time unemployment claims rise slightly in Ohio, companies in Northeast Ohio announced plans to shutter facilities and layoff workers. ASC Airtex, in North Canton, is closing its facility on Industrial Parkway and laying off 121 employees in the process. Those layoffs will begin in December, the company said in a letter to the Ohio Department of Jobs and Family Services.

As opposed to previous weeks, the companies did not cite the COVID-19 pandemic for the impending layoffs, but the companies also did not name a specific reason for the closure of facilities.

Here are the three companies that filed layoff notices with the state this week:

• ASC Airtex in North Canton — 121 employees
• Schneider Electric in Independence — 13 employees
• Chick Master Incubator Company in Medina — 70 employees

During last week, 18,639 Ohioans filed for first-time unemployment benefits, WHIO reported. That's up from the week before when 17,944 Ohioans filed for first-time unemployment benefits.

"The total number of initial jobless claims filed in Ohio over the last 28 weeks (1,733,734) was more than the combined total of those filed during the last four years," the Ohio Department of Jobs and Family Services said in a news release.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, Ohio has distributed $6.8 billion in unemployment benefits. More than 800,000 Ohioans have received some form of unemployment insurance from the state, and more than 1 million Ohioans have applied for unemployment benefits.

The Ohio Department of Jobs and Family Services said approximately 6 percent of unemployment claims are still pending.