Vt. gov says IBM layoffs a third of last round

MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) - Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin says his office has been notified that there have been layoffs at the IBM plant in Essex Junction.

Shumlin says IBM wouldn’t release the exact number of the layoffs, but that the layoffs are about a third the number of the last round. Last summer the state announced that IBM had laid-off 419 employees. A third of that would be about 140 workers.

Shumlin says the state won’t know the size of the layoffs until the company has filed a formal notice with the state.

Shumlin says the layoffs are difficult news for the affected workers and their families, but Vermont has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the country and many companies are looking for skilled workers.