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Further layoffs are expected at the Air Products and Chemicals Inc. plant in Hanover Township as the global demand for the equipment made locally has slowed, a company spokesman said Friday.
The Allentown-based company that has a manufacturing facility on the Sans Souci Parkway laid off 26 employees in September. Art George, a company spokesman, said the market conditions haven’t changed since then and the approximate 130 employees remaining have been notified.
“There is a coming workforce reduction,” George said.
He did not provide a specific date, only to say there will be adjustments to the workforce in 2017.
Employees at the plant make liquefied natural gas heat exchangers that take years to build and have to be transported by rail car. The local plant has made the equipment for more than 45 years, and its workers are represented by the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers Local 2200.
An email sent to the union Friday was not answered.
George said the local plant that serves the global market has been affected by the drop in oil prices and the supply of natural gas worldwide. “We have not taken a decision to close the facility,” he said.
Air Products provides industrial gases and equipment for manufacturing. It spun off its electronic materials division last month and is in the process of doing the same with its performance materials division. The publicly traded company with approximately 19,000 employees in 50 countries reported $9.9 billion in sales last year.