WisBusiness: Trane cuts La Crosse jobs

By Gregg Hoffmann
For WIsBusiness.com

Trane cut 20 salaried jobs at its La Crosse operations Wednesday and could eliminate 75 more jobs in upcoming months.

Citing the slowdown in the economy, Trane announced it will make centrifugal compressors for chillers at a plant in Taicang, China, rather than in La Crosse..

Compressors will continue to be made in La Crosse for the EarthWise CenTraVac Chillers. That chiller is the main product in La Crosse, where Trane makes air conditioning, ventilation, heating and building management equipment and systems for large commercial buildings. Chillers made in Taicang are primarily for the Asian market.

The fear of layoffs recently was fueled when Ingersoll-Rand Co., which acquired Trane in June, disclosed plans to lay off several thousand employees and close some plants around the world.

The layoffs and associated plant closings will begin this quarter, be global in scope and touch all business lines, Ingersoll-Rand spokesman Paul Dickard told the La Crosse Tribune.

Trane was founded in La Crosse in 1913 and remains a symbolic business icon. Several people expressed concern when the company was acquired by Ingersoll-Rand last summer, but others said the transaction could lead to a good fit and actually boost the La Crosse plant.

At the time of the recent Ingersoll-Rand announcement, about 2,265 people were working at Trane’s La Crosse facilities and another 57 hourly production workers were on layoff. Employment is up since early June, when Ingersoll-Rand completed its acquisition of Trane. At that time, about 2,150 people were working at Trane’s La Crosse facilities and another 126 hourly production workers were on layoff.