FOND DU LAC, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – It was less than a week ago when Corey Sasada found out he was getting laid off.
“I thought, ‘Oh crap. I’ve got to find a job real quick,” Sasada said.
Sasada has worked as a forklift operator at Mercury Marine for nearly three years. The company announced Friday that they’re laying off more than 250 employees at its Fond du Lac headquarters.
“I’m the only one making money in our household, so I’m clamoring to look for jobs that are equivalent or close to it in pay and responsibilities,” Sasada tells FOX 11.
He says there was a round of layoffs just a few months ago when 90 people at the plant lost their jobs. After that, he thought he was in the clear.
But now, like so many others, he’s trying to figure out what’s next, and how he’s going to continue to support his three young kids.
“That’s all I’m doing for now is looking at job postings and applying to places I feel would be a good fit for me,” Sasada said.
The only saving grace for Sasada and others impacted is that the layoffs don’t take effect until the end of July, giving them time to find new work.
However, that doesn’t make going to work any easier.
“I feel a little deflated when I go into work,” Sasada admits. “I normally have great enthusiasm for getting stuff done, doing what I’m told. [It’s] not like I’m being rebellious or anything, I just don’t feel as, I don’t want to say motivated, but something along them lines. Because yeah, knowing I’m going to be losing my job. I fully planned on being here long-term.”
Despite the difficult situation Sasada finds himself in, he doesn’t blame Mercury Marine or hold any ill will against them.
“When I first started here, I saw all the product inside and I thought, ‘How is there this much demand for boat motors?’ But, I get it more and more. The way things have been recently with the economy, it’s understandable they have to cut back.”
In fact, if they asked him to come back, Sasada says he likely would.
“I like working at Mercury, it’s a good job. It’s just unfortunate that I have to be laid off because I did plan on staying long term,” he said.
But for now, like many others, Sasada says he’s trying to stay positive.
“Coming into [Mercury Marine] I’d heard of layoffs in the past with factory work, so I knew it was a risk. I was just hopeful it wouldn’t happen and unfortunately it is happening,” he says. “I just gotta take it in stride and be an adult and find another job.”
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