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Area's other big employers facing trouble

Three see trouble on horizon, such as lawsuits, recession, worker training.

Take a closer look at the Miami Valley's top employers.

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By Ben Sutherly, Staff Writer Updated 1:10 PM Sunday, June 7, 2009

In the wake of NCR Corp.’s announcement that it’s moving its corporate headquarters from Dayton to Georgia, the Dayton Daily News contacted some of the region’s largest employers about the prospects for their local operations. Here is what four of them said:

AK STEEL

AK Steel Corp.’s local presence would benefit from construction of a coke oven facility in Middletown, spokesman Alan McCoy said.

SunCoke Energy’s $340 million facility would supply coke and energy to AK Steel’s Middletown Works operations. AK Steel has invested more than $9 million of its own in the project, McCoy said.

A Clean Air Act lawsuit filed by the city of Monroe and a new permit application submitted to the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency currently have the project on hold.

The company employs about 2,500 in West Chester and Middletown, including about 400 laid-off workers, McCoy said.

HONDA

Honda of America Manufacturing, which employs about 2,600 people at its engine plant in the Shelby County village of Anna, has not resorted to layoffs and has none planned, company spokesman Ron Lietzke said.

To cope with much lower demand for cars during a severe recession, the company is asking workers to take vacation days or is having them take time off without pay during nonproduction days. Thirteen such days are planned from May through July, Lietzke said. That will reduce production by 62,000 units in North America and by 28,000 units in Ohio at its Marysville and East Liberty manufacturing plants.

Those nonproduction days are in effect for the Anna engine plant, but not for Honda’s Troy operations, which employ about 300, Lietzke said.

“Our operations in Ohio are going to continue producing cars and light trucks to meet demand for our products here in North America, as well as other parts of the world,” Lietzke said, noting that so far in 2009, Honda has produced more cars and light trucks in Ohio than the combined output of all other car manufacturing operations in Ohio, including those of General Motors, Chrysler and Ford.

PREMIER HEALTH PARTNERS

Premier Health Partners’ employment has been growing for several years and now tops 14,000, but cuts in Medicaid reimbursement could disrupt that long-term trend, said Tom Breitenbach, Premier’s chief executive.

“The most important challenge for us is to have a highly educated, well-trained work force,” Breitenbach said.

Premier benefits from Wright State University’s medical and nursing programs, and from Sinclair Community College’s nursing and allied health programs. More recently, it has come to rely on the University of Dayton’s physical therapy program.

But one factor limiting its potential growth could be trained workers, particularly as baby boomers retire.

“Dayton Public Schools have to improve their output,” Breitenbach said. Many high school graduates aren’t prepared for the rigors of college life or a high-tech job, he said.

“They’ve committed to improving, but they’ve got a long way to go,” he said.

Dayton Public Schools Superintendent Kurt Stanic said the district has worked hard to improve its students’ readiness for college.

He cited the district’s new David H. Ponitz Career Technology Center, a career-oriented high school adjacent to the Sinclair Community College campus that replaces the Patterson Career Center.

“It’s a concept to address Mr. Breitenbach’s concerns,” Stanic said, noting Breitenbach serves as chair of the district’s accountability committee.

“We’re trying to make all of our schools schools of opportunity,” Stanic said.

UNIVERSITY OF DAYTON

University of Dayton received more than 12,000 applications for this fall’s freshman class.

Thanks in large part to that record interest in the university and its “strong financial position,” it is hiring 30 tenure-track faculty.

“We’ve had tremendous success in a down market hiring strong faculty,” noted Teri Rizvi, a university spokeswoman.

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-7457 or bsutherly@DaytonDailyNews.com.

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