Office furniture maker Steelcase cutting 600 jobs
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) - Steelcase Inc. is trimming about 600 jobs and closing an Atlanta plant.
The Grand Rapids-based office furniture maker also announced Thursday it will idle most of its North American manufacturing operations during the week of Jan. 26 due to reduced demand.
About 300 jobs will be lost at the Atlanta plant, which Steelcase is closing by the end of May under a modernization plan. The factory's production of storage items will be transferred to a plant in Athens, Ala.
Another 300 positions will be eliminated from its global white-collar work force, mostly in southwestern Michigan. Steelcase blames the economic downturn for those cuts.
Company spokeswoman Jeanine Holquist says the moves should be completed by February.
