KREAMER-More than 500 Wood-Mode workers have been laid off temporarily due to a massive computer problem at the Snyder County custom wood cabinet manufacturer.
A virus that is believed to have originated overseas hit the company Monday affecting production and deliveries, owner Bill French said.
Experts who are working to rectify the issue expect it will take two weeks, he said Friday. The laid-off employees have been encouraged to file for unemployment benefits, he said.
Only about 20 of the 550 employees remain on the job helping to get the system back up, said French, a Mifflinburg businessman who established the existing Wood-Mode as a new company in August 2019.
Because of a price increase previously announced to take effect Monday, the same day as the computer outage, there is a large backlog of orders, he said.
The price increase has been delayed because of the issue, he said.
Besides getting rid of the virus, French said additional software is being installed to try to prevent a recurrence.
Production and deliveries will return to normal immediately after the computer system is back up, he said.
This is the second time under French’s ownership that plant production has been shut down. The first was March 20, 2020, when during the COVID-19 pandemic Gov. Wolf ordered all non-essential businesses to close.
About a month later, the governor granted Wood-Mode a waiver to complete urgent orders.
The former Wood-Mode that had been in business for 77 years closed abruptly on May 13, 2019, throwing 938 out of work.
Employment has increased steadily from the 100 working when the existing Wood-Mode began production in 2019.