No Layoffs at Lincoln Electric

Posted Tuesday, March 2, 2010

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This recession has been a doozy so-far, but some companies have survived without layoffs. There's one local company has managed to do that and give year-end bonuses to blue-collar workers of more than $28,000. That's not the most interesting part: this company hasn't had a layoff since it guaranteed continuous employment in 1958. On the next Sound of Ideas, the author of the new book about Lincoln Electric's unusual--and unusually successful--employment guarantee. That's Tuesday morning at 9 on 90.3.

Guests

Frank Koller, author Spark
John Stropki, CEO, Lincoln Electric
Joe Latessa, Sr., Lincoln Electric retiree
Frank Navratil, PhD, professor Economics & Finance, John Carroll University

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Tom Olson 10:41 AM 3/2/10

Isn’t it amazing that when a company treats WELL the people who create it on a daily basis, they return the favor with productivity? Wow, CEOs of greed out there, take that!

Roanld Czarnecki 11:23 AM 3/2/10

How refreshing to hear of a company that lauds the benefits of piecework. I worked at Conn Selmer in Elkhart, which for years had piece rate until the last fair contract of 1996 in which workers with 40 years, skilled and talented, lost their jobs to crossovers who lacked those skills. The company favored lean manufacturing, quota and no questions at company meetings.

The union protects the least employee among the ranks who can not speak for themselves I can see Lincoln Electric already thinks of the least of their employees.