More Layoffs On The Gulf Coast

PASCAGOULA, Miss. (AP) - Signal International has laid off 200
to 250 employees in its Pascagoula shipyards over the past month as
work winds down as rigs are completed.
Chairman and CEO Dick Marler says as the rigs are completed,
Signal lays people off. He says Signal had seven rigs but now has
only three.
Marler says the cut positions were mostly for craftsmen, he
said, including welders, fitters and electricians. About 20
salaried support staff workers were also laid off, he said, while
others were transferred to other positions.
The workers know the nature of the work, Marler says, and they
hopefully be recalled at the beginning of next year.
Signal International has two Pascagoula shipyards that employed
more than 2,500 people before the layoffs.