Director of Public Relations Billie Stuber told West Kentucky Star 65 people have been laid off this week with 45 of them from Paducah.
Since April, Dippin' Dots has laid off a total of 82 employees, with 62 of them in Paducah. Stuber said they don't anticipate any further layoffs. Many of these had been furloughed in April with hopes that they could return to their jobs, but the length of the pandemic has affected demand for their product.
Stuber said, "Dippin' Dots are sold in theme parks and zoos, arenas, malls, and all those locations were closed during COVID, and many of them are reopening, but it's at a pretty slow rate. Most places have phases of reopening, so that has limited our business, especially getting into the summer."
She said they believe business will pick up, but it's difficult to predict how long that will take, especially since rules vary in different states or regions.
Stuber said, "We don't want any of our remaining employees to stress and feel concerned about their jobs, so we're done with the layoffs for now, hopefully forever."
When employees were furloughed, remaining workers in all departments took a wage reduction. Stuber said those with higher paying jobs took larger cuts than those who earned less.
"That was designed so that executive management and those higher-paying positions would absorb the majority of the wage reduction," Stuber said.
The company hopes to get back to production levels that require re-hiring the positions that have been eliminated, and Stuber said when that happens, Dippin' Dots will reach out to laid off employees to see if they are interested.
She said the company also hopes to restore wages to their previous levels over time.
