CHAD UMBLE | Staff WriterNearly 20 printing companies are interested in hiring at least some of the 656 LSC Communications workers who are set to be laid off by March 31. Many of those jobs, however, are not in the Lancaster area.
LSC announced last week it planned to shutter its two Lancaster city plants amid a decline in demand for catalogs and magazines. The plants were once used to print phone books and other materials and formerly owned by R.R. Donnelley & Sons, which was a stable and top employer in the county for more than half a century. LSC plans to shift its remaining local work printing catalogs and magazines to Indiana and Minnesota. LSC is owned by Atlas Holdings, a Connecticut-based private equity fund
“Sixteen printing companies have reached out to us directly so far,” Melissa Noebes, senior vice president LSC Communications, told LNP | LancasterOnline. “At least a half dozen are in the greater Lancaster area. A few more are located just across the Maryland border. In addition, we have inquiries coming in from printing companies around the country, many of whom are offering generous relocation packages.” She did not respond to a request to provide names of the companies.
Two companies – Iowa-based Mittera and York-based YSG Group – contacted LNP | LancasterOnline directly.
This is the LSC Communications Lancaster East facility at 216 Greenfield Rd. In Lancaster city Thursday, Jan. 5, 2023.
‘Resigned to our fate’
The mood at one of the plants is reserved, an employee said.
“Almost everyone I see daily has some comment or starts a small conversation concerning it all,” a longtime worker in his 50s said. “I haven’t personally seen any harsh negative reactions nor heard of any. We’re becoming resigned to our fate and starting to focus on what the next steps will be.”
He is glad for the help and support promised in finding a new job.
“I think it’s great that outside companies are reaching out to us concerning the closure,” he said. “There’s hope in that for sure.”
When the layoffs were announced, employees said they worried about the job market where the unemployment rate is historically low but where their specific skills may not be much in demand.
Local jobs data show that LSC employees who have developed skills and seen increased wages from their years of experience will be hard pressed to find similar jobs locally. These employees include printing press operators, print binders and print finishers.
The 656 soon-to-be former LSC Communications employees will be entering a local job market w…
In the last month, there were seven active job listings in Lancaster County for printing press operators and for print binding or finishing workers, and demand for such positions is expected to decline over the next year, according to state jobs data on Lancaster County.
Workers are also worried about losing pay and benefits. Senior workers with printing skills at LSC can make in the mid-$60,000-a-year range, not including overtime, which once was common. The average annual Lancaster County wage for laborers and freight, stock and material movers – the job with the best skills match for print binding and finishing workers – is $36,000.
Noebes said the local manufacturing community is also interested in hiring LSC workers.
“Eighteen non-print related companies from the Lancaster area have reached out directly to us, so far,” Noebes said. “Our workforce is composed of experienced machine operators, maintenance personnel, electricians, material handlers, fork truck drivers, supervisors, customer service, finance, you name it. All of these skills are readily transferable to other manufacturing environments.”
Noebes said there are also job opportunities within the company at LSC locations outside of Lancaster.
She said LSC will be hosting an internal job fair for workers interested in pursuing these roles. Human resources personnel are available on-site for all shifts and will contact hose who have shown interest.
LSC also plans to host on-site job fairs during working hours.
In addition, LSC is working with various resources including the state Department of Labor and Industry’s Rapid Response Team, to provide resume writing and interview skills workshops, benefits and pension counseling, career counseling and job training opportunities.
A Lancaster County man who has worked 30 years in the same printing plant under three differ…
Lisa Riggs, president of the Lancaster Economic Development Company, and Anna Ramos, of the Lancaster County Workforce Development Board, along with the Lancaster County Chamber, have offered to help coordinate job fairs with local employers.
1864 – Chicago-based R. R. Donnelley & Sons is founded.
‘There will be opportunities’
Mittera, a large privately owned print and mailing provider based in Des Moines, Iowa, sent an announcement to LNP | LancasterOnline that it would be coming to Lancaster to recruit during the week of Jan. 23.
“We understand the impact and hardship a difficult decision like this can have, especially in the print industry and for the Lancaster economy and community,” said Brittney Scheidt, a training and talent specialist with Mittera. ”We believe we will be able to offer these industry experts valuable and meaningful opportunities.”
One nearby company seeking LSC workers is YGS, which has a location in York.
Jim Kell, CEO of York-based YGS Group, said he is interested because his commercial printing company is growing quickly, having added 50 people in 2022.
“One of our biggest challenges in the last several years has been finding good people, finding folks that have the skills set of these LSC people,” he said.
With 267 employees and four locations in York County and one in Dauphin County, YGS prints catalogs, direct mail and other publications. Kell said it operates on a smaller scale than LSC and has found a niche that has allowed it to thrive. The company, which recently did $47 million in annual sales, expects 10% sales growth this year, he said.
YGS has hired some LSC employees in the last several years when its Lancaster operations were shrinking.
While YGS Group is currently advertising for fewer than 10 open positions, Kell said that has more to do with the seasonally slow printing schedule that follows the holidays and its crush of mailers and catalogs. Even if there aren’t specific open jobs, Kell encouraged LSC workers to apply.
“There will be opportunities for very skilled people,” he said. “We’ll make room for them.”
