A dozen employees at two Springfield architecture firms are out of work, part of the continuing struggles the industry faces due to dwindling construction projects.
Springfield's largest architecture firm, Butler, Rosenbury & Partners Inc., laid off nine employees last week, while GHN Architects and Engineers let go three employees earlier in the month. Executives at each firm confirmed the layoffs on Monday.
Geoffrey Butler, CEO at Butler, Rosenbury & Partners Inc. met with employees Jan. 28 to tell them of the cutbacks. He declined to go into detail about which jobs were eliminated, saying that the layoffs were across all disciplines, including administration. The firm’s staff has been reduced to 28 from 37.
GHN Architects and Engineers also laid off an interior designer, an architectural intern and a construction documents technologist, cutting its workforce to nine from 12, said Charles Hill, GHN president, adding that the firm hasn’t had to lay off a staffer in 20 years.
Both Hill and Butler point to a lack of financing for construction projects as a leading reason for the struggles in their businesses and the architectural industry, adding that the employees could be rehired if conditions improve.
Butler said the affected employees were not surprised by the news.
"They know how much work we have," he said. "These are not people oblivious to business conditions."
The decisions came just days after the Springfield Public Schools Board of Education approved the selection of an Omaha, Neb.-based architecture firm to work on one of three school projects funded by $50-million in school bonds approved by voters in November.
While Butler didn't tie the layoff decision directly to the school project, the state of the industry compelled Butler to speak out against the SPS bond project decision.
His voice was among the loudest during protests by local architectural firms in the days leading up to the school board decision.
“The guy who screams the loudest is the last one that’s going to get a job. But someone has to scream,” he said, adding that he hadn’t pinned his hopes on his firm getting any business from the bond projects. “If it had gone to another local firm, some of my people could have had a chance of working there.”[[In-content Ad]]
