Representatives Miller, Perillo and Senator Kelly React to PerkinElmer Layoffs
State Representatives Larry Miller (R-122), Jason Perillo (R-113), and State Senator Kevin Kelly (R-21) today expressed disappointment at the announcement that Shelton’s PerkinElmer would layoff seventy-five employees. The manufacturing company, headquartered in Waltham Massachusetts, announced the layoffs in conjunction with the moving the manufacturing of some of their product lines from Connecticut to sites in Singapore and the United Kingdom.
The layoffs are schedules to take place in the latter half of 2012 and into 2013. PerkinElmer employs five hundred people in the Town of Shelton, and the news sent shockwaves through the valley community at the end of last week.
The legislators jointly sent a letter to Department of Labor Commissioner Glen Marshall on Friday afternoon expressing their concerns over the layoffs, and requesting that the department’s Rapid Response Team be dispatched to educate the displaced workers about job search assistance, unemployment benefits and training opportunities.
They also expressed concerns that the entire Shelton-based PerkinElmer manufacturing operation may be in jeopardy of being moved overseas which would result in a devastating loss of jobs and hardship to families in the area.
Miller Hails Passage of Job Creation Package
Rep. Larry Miller (R-122) today praised the passage of a significant package of reforms aimed at spurring Connecticut’s lagging employment figures, which have held steady for two years at roughly 9%, and the sluggish state economy. The bi-partisan measures were adopted today by overwhelming votes of both the state House and Senate during a special session of the General Assembly.
Since the adjournment of the regular session in June, Miller has met with and visited numerous businesses in the Stratford and Shelton area to get a clear picture of how Connecticut’s business environment was impacting the day-to-day operations of local companies.
“Unfortunately Connecticut has done a lot in the past to make it very difficult to do business with the state,” said Representative Larry Miller. “While this package does not address all of them, it is an excellent start in reversing a trend that has put Connecticut nearly last in line among all states to recover from this global recession.”
