HUDSON, Wis. – The medical device manufacturing plant at St. Croix Meadows, part of the Koch Industries empire, has laid off 96 employees and served notice that another 225 may be let go soon. The plan, operating under the name Phillips-Medisize, which is part of Koch’s global Molox medical device and military operation, also is laying off people at Medford, Wisconsin. The company explained that there had been explained that there had been “a substantial reduction” in demand from a customer. Meanwhile, the company’s Medford plant will close by the end of 2023 with 175 layoffs.
Details sparse
Phillips-Medisize reported the cutbacks in a document legally required to go to the state Department of Workforce Development. Details met only bare state compliance requirements for reporting. Who was the lost customer? Why? What alternatives were considered short of layoffs?
Koch profile
Koch Industries is a privately held multinational conglomerate based in Wichita, Kansas. It’s notoriously secretive. Koch is the second largest privately held company in the United States, after Cargill. Subsidiaries include Georgia Pacific, Guardian Industries, Infor, Invista and Molex. The firm employs 122,000 people in 60 countries. Half of Koch’ss business is in the United States.