Japan woes may mean 116 layoffs at LI firm

A Bohemia company that assembles orthodontia kits is planning to lay off 116 of its 180 workers because it can't get enough materials from a longtime supplier in Japan, a spokeswoman said Monday.

Dentsply GAC, whose products include brackets and wires for straightening teeth, plans to lay off workers between June 30 and July 15, according to a WARN notice filed with the state Labor Department.

"We're working with the supplier and looking for alternatives," said Michele Mummert, a spokeswoman for Dentsply International, the York, Pa.-based parent of the Long Island division. "But at this point there's nothing for them [the workers] basically to make."

And she said it was unclear when the full line of supplies would return. Japan is still grappling with the damage from the March earthquake and tsunami that devastated the country.

Companies that plan a mass layoff or closing have to file a 90-day notice under the state Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification act, or WARN. They have to file the notices with state and local governments, and employees and unions, if workers are unionized.

The news of the latest planned layoffs comes as Long Island continues to face high unemployment amid its struggle to recover from the recession. In March the Island's jobless rate declined to 7.1 percent from 7.8 percent in February but remains well above the prerecession rate of 4.5 percent in March 2008, according to the latest data from the state Labor Department. Also in March the Island had just 10,300 more private-sector jobs, or 1 percent, than it had in March 2010.