OXNARD : Abex Lays Off 50 as Phase-Out Continues

About 50 full-time Abex employees punched the clock for the last time this week as the company continued phasing out its Oxnard factory.

More than 100 people remain at the facility that, until October, employed 550 workers who made hydraulic aircraft parts, said Randall Holiday, an Abex spokesman.

Holiday said about 50 hourly employees were let go this week and 30 salaried employees would leave next week.

“These were long-term employees,” said Raul Ramirez, a spokesman for the Oil, Chemical and Atomic Workers International Union. “There was no surprise about the layoffs, but there was, of course, disappointment.”

Ramirez said the local chapter of the union was working with the company to help workers find new jobs. But “the job opportunities are less for them,” he said. “A lot of them will try to get retraining to get new skills.”

Forty of the workers will work in an Abex office in Camarillo, Holiday said.

Michigan-based Abex announced closure of the Oxnard facility in October, blaming a dwindling aerospace market. Holiday said the Oxnard plant will close for good in December.