GREENE – The county’s largest employer will be moving to a four-day work week as an alternative to large scale layoffs, according to a company representative.

“The current economic conditions have caught up with our industry,” said Steve VanNostrand, vice president of human resources for The Raymond Corporation.

While Raymond continues to gain market share in the material handling industry, the size of the overall pie is shrinking, he explained. “Total demand in the marketplace has dropped in the last couple of months.”

The company is seeking assistance from the New York State Department of Labor’s Shared Work program to mitigate the impact on employees. Workers will see a pay cut due to their decreased hours, but at least a portion of that will be replaced by unemployment compensation if Raymond’s application is approved by the state.

According to Charles Masciola, the NYS Department of Labor’s senior counselor for the Southern Tier, the program is designed to “bridge a gap in production.”

“It’s really a lay-off diversion strategy,” he explained, which allows workers to keep their jobs during an economic downturn.

Specific benefits are determined on an individual basis but, as a general rule, workers will receive a higher of their full-time compensation than they would if they had to depend solely on unemployment.

All employees who could be affected by the change have been notified, reported Van VanNostrand. His staff is meeting with small groups of those workers to make sure all of their questions are answered going forward.