MINDEN -- After laying off almost two dozen workers earlier this year, Bently Nevada Corp. has slashed its marketing department in half as part of its continuing effort to restructure, the company announced this week.
Joel Burbank, spokesman for the Minden-based manufacturing company, said the nine people who lost their jobs have been offered three months of job placement assistance and severance pay based on their years of employment.
"This is not an easy thing for the folks affected," Burbank said. "This is a business decision. Our focus at Bently is to concentrate on what we do best."
Founder Don Bently started the company in the mid-1950s in his garage in Berkeley, Calif. He moved the business to Minden in 1961 and sold it to General Electric in January.
In August, the company laid off 23 employees in the custodial, security and food services departments, contracting with outside vendors for those duties.
Bently employs 900 people at its Minden plant and 1,700 worldwide.