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July 11, 2008

50 will lose jobs when Ashaway flashlight plant closes

HOPKINTON -- The Garrity Industries flashlight plant in Ashaway will close in April, putting more than 50 people out of work.

A spokesman for Duracell, Garrity's corporate owner, says operations in Ashaway and Madison, Conn., will be consolidated at the company's Bethel, Conn., facility.

The spokesman says more than 50 employees at the Ashaway facility and 28 in Madison will be laid off over the next six to nine months.

Garrity Industries was founded in 1967, and in 2006 was bought by battery maker Duracell, a division of Procter & Gamble Co.

Spokesman Kurt Iverson says some employees will be offered jobs at other Duracell locations and some will get severance packages.

Westerly resident Carol Young, a Garrity employee since June 2000, says workers were ``upset and angry.''

The Associated Press with information from The Westerly Sun.

Posted by Jack Perry  at 8:37 AM | Permalink

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