When salary employees at the local Delta Faucet factory were trimmed in late February, hourly employees were informed to prepare for another cut.

Tuesday, Delta held true to its promise. According to Paula Warner, manager of corporate communications and public relations, 95 hourly employees were laid off effective immediately. The difficult decision, she said, was in response to the lagging U.S. housing market, which has not improved in the last two years.

“The challenging economic times, the downturn in the U.S housing market and softening in demand led Delta Faucet Company to make the difficult decision to layoff hourly staff at the Greensburg facility,” she stated. “While this move is unfortunate, this will help Delta maintain its competitive position.”

All affected employees were offered a severance package, which included financial assistance, “to help them through this transition.”

Warner said while the layoffs aren’t intended to be permenant, the market will dictate whether the workers will return to the plant.

“The affected employees will have callback rights for a period of time; much will depend on market conditions,” she said.

The move came from a need to tighten the belt, so to speak, for the local plant. With the lagging economy, Delta felt it prudent to consolidate in order to remain competitive, she noted. Employees were given consideration for the number of years worked and their specific skill set.

“Because demand has decreased due to the downturn in the housing market, the Greensburg facility has consolidated production shifts to run more efficiently. There were multiple factors that went into these decisions, among them seniority and skills required for certain positions,” Warner said.

With the cut, the plant still boasts a workforce of about 662 people.