The Group O company is trimming its workforce by 68 jobs at its Rock Island warehouse, 2916 78th Ave. West, company officials announced Friday, Jan. 5.
“A long-time client made the decision to bring production of one of their products back in-house, necessitating a reduction in the staff supporting that business,” Kevin Kotecki, Group O CEO, said in a news release. “When industry trends and the needs of our clients change, Group O must align with the adjusted demand.”
He added: “Although at times difficult decisions must be made to ensure long-term success, we make every effort to minimize the impact on our valued employees. In this situation, we were able to move a number of the affected employees into other roles in the company.”
Group O, which is headquartered in Milan, will continue to produce other product lines for the same client and is committed to leveraging its strengths to attract new business opportunities and increase jobs at its Rock Island operations, company officials said in the release.
Mr. Kotecki added that these changes would have no further impact on operations at any other Group O locations across the country.
The company has 583 employees at Quad-City locations, with 257 employees in Rock Island.
Group O is a business process outsourcer specializing in packaging, incentive marketing, supply chain, and mobile device testing solutions. In addition to the Quad Cities, it has major operations in Minnesota, Texas, and Mexico. Group O employs more than 1,200 employees.
Founded in 1974 as a small, Hispanic family-owned packaging company, Group O has expanded into a thriving multifaceted business enterprise still owned by the Ontiveros family. It has become one of the nation’s largest Hispanic-owned companies.
