News that National-Standard Co. will be terminating more than 50 positions at the company may have come as a surprise to residents of Niles.

But it didn’t quite come as a surprise to those employees affected by the cuts.

“From what I understand, this has been in the works for quite some time,” said one employee, who asked his name not be released.

The father of three, who has worked at National-Standard for three and a half years, said employees had an idea a layoff was coming last month.

“The contract was up in October,” he said. “So we’ve pretty much known since October what was going on.”

National-Standard, a Heico Wire Group company and major employer in Niles, confirmed the layoff over the weekend. Those slated to be cut are expected to see their positions terminated by Christmas.

“Early November, the fourth or fifth of November, we concluded a severance agreement with the union to provide benefits for virtually all employees who would be laid off and that was ratified by the bargaining unit last Friday, Nov. 12, and that provides assistance to employees who will ultimately be laid off,” said Harry Stang, corporate attorney for the company.

“They gave us notice this time at least,” the employee claims. “Last time we got laid off they didn’t give us any notice. We haven’t gotten anything in writing yet. They’re supposed to give us notification seven days in advance and we haven’t gotten that yet.”

Another person who wasn’t too surprised by the layoff is state Rep. Sharon Tyler, who has been working to keep the jobs in Niles since she was contacted by a National-Standard employee who suspected layoffs might be coming.

Tyler, R-Niles, told the Star Tuesday that after catching wind of the potential layoffs, she contacted the Michigan Economic Development Corp., the Southwestern Michigan Economic Growth Alliance and Michigan Works “to work on the issue.”

They then presented to National-Standard a proposal through the University of Michigan’s Surviving to Thriving program, which is designed to stabilize employment levels in Michigan.

“We did place a proposal to National-Standard to try to keep the jobs in Niles,” Tyler said. “We’re still hoping National Standard will take advantage.”

Tyler said the news of the layoffs “was very disappointing after working so hard.”

With his last day scheduled for next week, the employee said he attended a union meeting last week, which addressed the layoffs.

“It was pretty straightforward,” he claims. “It was, ‘this is how it’s going to be and that’s the end of it.'”

National-Standard announced it would be moving its weld wire line to its facility in Oklahoma.

“We’re going to be adding a new shift which will create about between 12 and 15 jobs in what’s called the ACSR department, which is a special kind of wire,” Stang said, “which will mitigate the layoff to a degree.”

Employees slated to be terminated can “bump” or “bid” for those positions.

“They work with a lot of lead and zinc,” the National-Standard employee said, adding he would not be trying out for one of the new positions. “I’d rather just take my lumps and I’d much rather not bring that home to my kids.”

He also said he “wasn’t going to let them take Christmas from my kids” and planned ahead, doing his gift shopping as soon as he heard his job would be eliminated.

With the holidays coming, Tyler said, “The timing couldn’t be worse.”

Asked about the timing of the layoff, Stang’s reply was: “The timing is a function of meeting customers production requirements.”

Although 50 jobs may not seem like a lot, it is discouraging for a community that lost 500 jobs when Tyler Refrigeration shut its doors last year.

“Any job lost is very difficult,” Tyler said. “There’s a trickle-down effect of that. And around this time of year, it just makes it worse.”

For some workers, the layoff is coming as a much needed relief, according to the National-Standard employee. Employees had scheduled vacations during the July 4 annual shutdown, but those vacations had been pushed back and he said none of them had received one yet.

“They’re really trying to bust ass and try and get as much as they can in the warehouse before we bust loose,” he said.

Looking forward to a few days of vacation, he said he’ll plan on going back to school and for the most part, he’s not worried.

“I was getting more from unemployment than working three days a week,” he said.

According to the employee, the Niles facility is the only union shop within the Heico Wire Group company.