Credit: Manor College
Manor College served as home on April 3 to a job fair for workers displaced by the fire at SPS Technologies.
“We wanted to do this for the community,” Craig Cuthbert, PA CareerLink Montgomery County Operator said. “The outpouring of support for the workers has been amazing and employers want to talk with these workers. We’re honored to help facilitate this.”
The career fair, which was also open to the public, saw more than 30 employers and 150 potential employees pack the Manor College gymnasium.
The fire at SPS Technologies took place in February and led to the loss of about 200 jobs in the Glenside/Jenkintown area. Manor College, located on Fox Chase Road in Jenkintown, is about three miles from the SPS headquarters.
“Whatever we can do for our community, we want to be a resource,” Dr. Jonathan Peri, Manor College President, said. “We were glad to host this event and we welcome our hardworking neighbors.”
The event was attended by Nancy Walker, Secretary of Labor and Industry for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Secretary Walker toured the gym and spoke to many of the employees and employers on hand.
In March, Montgomery County Commissioner Neil Makhija wrote a letter to Berkshire Hathaway CEO and Chairman Warren Buffett seeking assistance to save the jobs of hundreds of SPS Technologies workers
“As you consider your next investments, please think of this company and our community,” Makhija said in the letter addressed to the well-known “Oracle of Omaha.”
SPS Communications Director David Dugan previously told MediaNews Group the company intended to compensate their employees through at least mid-March as company representatives assess current equipment viability. Dugan said on Monday that the compensation date has been extended through May 18 as well as “benefits until the end of May.”
“We also communicated that we would be contacting each person to let them know whether or not they would be employed past May 18th,” Dugan said in a March 17 statement to MediaNews Group. Dugan also confirmed approximately 250 employees could be impacted.
