WATERTOWN, New York (WWNY) – “Certainly that’s good news for our area,” said Cheryl Mayforth, Executive Director of the Jefferson County Workplace.
New York Air Brake will be the home to a new product line beginning in 2023. That’s according to the company’s president.
It’s unknown exactly how many new jobs it’ll add to the Watertown plant. But Mayforth says having a legacy manufacturer add a new line, and new jobs are good things.
“Our economy has basically been dependent upon those staple types of businesses like New York Air Brake. We like to see that they’re growing. We like to see that they’re moving forward,” said Mayforth.
In September, the company’s CEO, Ulisses Camilo announced that the Air Brake would lay off 125 of its 400 employees and move manufacturing to a new facility south of the border in Mexico. When the layoffs were announced, the company said it was going to introduce a new rail disc brake product line. But exactly where that line would be based wasn’t announced, until now.
“So this appears to be, without knowing the details, appears to be the first step on their part to refocus the plant, kind of build back on those jobs,” said Dave Zembiec, with the Jefferson County Industrial Development Agency.
Zembiec says the JCIDA is open to helping the company any way they can.
The president and CEO of New York Air Brake released a statement saying quote, “Our presence will be different in 2022, but our commitment as a corporate citizen and a solid employer in Watertown and Jefferson County remains the same. Watertown has been the heart of our business for over 130 years. As we move forward, that will not change.”
As for those 125 layoffs announced last September, they were scheduled to happen right around this time and Cheryl Mayforth says The Workplace has helped some of those people find new jobs.
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