Latest Layoff: Universal Lighting Technologies

EdisonReport received this exclusive statement from Mark Verheyen, President & CEO, Universal Lighting Technologies:

“As Universal manages the transition from “conventional lighting” to LED lighting we are regularly evaluating our resources and skill sets and adjusting them to the new requirements. Wherever possible we try to reallocate and train our valuable team members, however market forces sometimes require bigger adjustments than we can absorb internally.

The North American non-residential lighting market has been extremely soft for the past two quarters and this is expected to continue for some time. This, combined with continuing price pressure over all product lines is requiring us to consolidate many activities to maintain competitiveness and strengthen our strategic focus on the areas of future growth. The recently announced job cuts at Universal are mainly related to the faster-than-expected decline of conventional ballast products. They are affecting all Universal locations including those in the United States and Mexico.

Although we will continue to supply ballasts as long as there is market demand, Universal will focus on the product areas where we can continue to experience solid growth including:

–          Custom and standard LED modules to OEMs for indoor and outdoor applications

–          LED drivers and integrated solutions to OEMs for indoor, outdoor and industrial applications

–          LED retrofit solutions for ESCO projects through the electrical distribution channel

Universal will continue to provide the high level of technical support, product quality and delivery service that our customers expect from us. We remain extremely confident in our ability to be a leader in the markets we serve.”