Wireco, formerly Wire Rope Corporation Of America is trimming back some shifts at the St. Joseph production facility.

The company is essentially cutting one day a week of production for many workers making for a 32 hour work week until further notice.

There will also be a one week shut down of the plant at the end of this month to help clear out current inventory and allow for plant maintenance.

Dave Hornaday, senior vice president of administration for Wireco, says the St. Joseph cut back follows similar scheduling that has trimmed hours at the Chillicothe and Sadelia plants in the past few weeks.

Hornaday says the wire rope business is soft world wide and especially in the oil and gas exploration business that is a big user of the heavy rope manufactured here. He says the German and Mexico markets have also seen a reduction in demand due to a world wide slowdown in heavy construction and applications.

Approximately 200 St. Joseph workers will be affected by the shortened work week.