SIRVA to cut positions

FORT WAYNE, IND. (WANE) - Officials at SIRVA confirm “definite lay offs” at the Fort Wayne facility; however, a specific number isn’t being released. One worker tells NewsChannel 15 that it was “around two dozen” but company officials are not confirming or denying that at this time.

The Friday news comes nearly six months after the company announced a huge expansion at its Fort Wayne facility. On October 17, 2008, the moving company announced plans to move operations from Chicago to Fort Wayne; a move that brought an additional 240 positions to the Summit City.

SIRVA specializes in moving and relocations, and is the parent company of Allied Van Lines and North American Van Lines. The company employs roughly 460 people in Northeast Indiana, and has been in business in Fort Wayne for more than 50 years.

SIRVA’s main operations in Fort Wayne deal with telephone customer service, such as helping to set-up and handle moves for people and corporations.

In October, Governor Daniels told NewsChannel 15 that the expansion was “significant” because, “Once a company's planted its flag somewhere, and put its central office there, that's home; and they are very likely to grow there, and are much less likely to every leave there,” the Governor said.

But the company is scaling back on the expansion plans just six months later, citing the poor economy. While the company’s PR firm couldn’t elaborate on specifics regarding the jobs cuts, CEO Wes Lucas did have this to say in a prepared statement.

“SIRVA remains committed to the City of Fort Wayne and the State of Indiana and continues to move forward on the SIRVA Moving Services consolidation project announced last fall. However, given the current economic environment, SIRVA, now more than ever, continues to proactively manage its cost structure to ensure we have the proper short and long term resources to best serve our associates, clients, agents, and shareholders,” Lucas said.

“As a result of SIRVA’s strong balance sheet, SIRVA is aggressively investing in new products and services, improving its IT systems, and increasing quality, all of which has resulted in winning new clients. As part of any fiscally responsible company’s on-going practices, SIRVA will continue to review its organization structure and make the necessary changes to maintain a strong and growing concern,” Lucas continued.

Stay with NewsChannel 15 and wane.com for the latest on this developing story.