Puritan lays off more than 200 workers in Pittsfield

By Valerie Royzman, Staff Writer

PITTSFIELD — A Maine company that manufactures COVID-19 and other medical swabs will eliminate 272 positions, including about 215 in Pittsfield.

Puritan Medical Products announced the layoffs June 28, citing plummeting demand for the testing swabs and “post COVID market conditions,” according to the Morning Sentinel.

The Guilford-based manufacturer also has a facility in Orlinda, Tennessee, which opened in 2021 and will close as part of the consolidation, the Waterville newspaper reported.

The layoffs, which include more than a third of Puritan’s workforce, come more than three months after furloughing 251 workers at its Pittsfield plant. When the company announced the furloughs in March, officials said they intended to hire employees back within six months and would continue to offer medical insurance.

“These actions are the latest — and hopefully last — measures taken in response to the post-COVID downturn,” Puritan said in a statement.

Puritan, which received millions of dollars in federal funds during the pandemic, opened its first Pittsfield plant in July 2020.

It hired about 400 workers as demand for COVID-19 tests rapidly increased. By November, it was producing nearly 90 million foam testing swabs per month.

A second Pittsfield location opened in the former San Antonio Shoemakers factory in January 2021. The plant made “flocked” swabs, which are optimal for collecting viral samples.

Layoffs are major disruptions to the livelihoods of employees and their families, Bob Shultz, Puritan’s president and chief financial officer, said in a statement, according to the Sentinel. 

“However, the swiftness and significance of the post-COVID market correction has sustained, and while Puritan does not take these measures lightly, we feel that they are necessary,” he said.