News: Medford - Hurd Windows & Doors Purchase (9 Dec 2004)

Transcriber: Robert Lipprandt
bob@wiclarkcountyhistory.org 

----Source: The Star News (Medford, WI) 12/11/2014

Originally published in the Medford Star News, 9 December, 2004

Months of speculation and weeks of worry came to an end for the Medford community last week as Monarch Holdings officially took over at the former Hurd Millwork company here.

In August, the Iowa-based company announced plans to enter into talks for a purchase of the local window and door manufacturer. Two weeks ago, Hurd employees were informed they needed to reapply for positions in the new company and on Friday, Dec. 3 employees in the plant found out if they had a job to go to on Monday.

The good news is the majority of the workers at the plant here retained their jobs, at least for now. The bad news is that cut ran deep with approximately 50 office positions eliminated, with some offered positions elsewhere in the business.

Company officials were vague on the exact number of cuts, stating only that approximately 15 percent of the workers were laid off in the Medford and Merrill plants.