IGT to close Coventry plant, 44 workers affected

IGT PLANS to shut its manufacturing facility in Coventry, as part of a plan to move manufacturing to Reno, Nev.
IGT PLANS to shut its manufacturing facility in Coventry, as part of a plan to move manufacturing to Reno, Nev.

COVENTRY – IGT plans to shut its manufacturing plant at 1372 Main St. here, affecting 44 workers.
Angela G. Wiczek, the company’s vice president of corporate communications, said the workers were notified yesterday, and will receive severance packages.
A limited number will be offered transfers to Reno, Nev., where the company’s manufacturing operation will be consolidated, and they also can apply for other jobs within the company, she said.
Wiczek said the closing should take approximately a year to complete, and the affected workers will receive help from IGT’s human resources department regarding outplacement services.
She said Reno is an underutilized facility, and will function as the main global manufacturing plant for the company.
“The Reno state-of-the art facility is currently being used below capacity, and there is a solid business case to centralize all manufacturing there. This decision is driven strictly by our commitment to achieve cost savings as a result of our acquisition of IGT,” Wiczek said.
The manufacturing employees represent 55 percent of the workforce in Coventry; the remaining 45 percent, representing 31 employees who work in information technology, will be transferred to IGT’s West Greenwich facility, which will serve as the main technology hub, she said.
Through a $4.7 billion merger earlier this month, GTECH officially became known as International Game Technology – IGT. The combined company specializes in lottery and gaming machines. The Coventry plant builds instant ticket vending machines.

Wiczek said the decision to close the 142,000-square-foot Coventry site, which is owned by the company, was one of several changes as a result of the merger.
A facility in Austria is closing, affecting 22 employees, and another manufacturing facility in Canada also will be converted to office space. There are 500 employees at the Moncton, New Brunswick, site, with manufacturing workers representing 14 percent of the staff, she said.
London is where the main headquarters for IGT is based. IGT’s Providence location serves as one of three operating headquarters, along with Las Vegas and Rome. IGT also operates a call center in the city. Approximately 1,000 people are employed by IGT at the four facilities in Rhode Island, she said.
“We are committed to employing 1,000 people in Rhode Island. While some jobs are being moved to Reno, other jobs are moving in to the state,” she said.

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