CLEVELAND — More than a month after federal and state funding for Ohio’s Manufacturing Advocacy and Growth Network—known as MAGNET—was frozen, layoffs continue as leaders and lawmakers push for transparency.
It was in early December when MAGNET learned that roughly $5.9 million in state and federal funding was frozen, and the organization still has no answers, and now, only a fraction of its staff.
RELATED: MAGNET faces possible layoffs and closures after abrupt federal funding halt
"We have let go of about half of our staff, so we are down to about 39 people, and that used to be about double,” said Ethan Karp, CEO and president of MAGNET.
Ohio has long ranked among the top manufacturing states in the nation, and for decades, MAGNET has supported product development, workforce training, and business growth. Now, the organization says it has no choice but to scale back.
"It's pretty devastating to have to tear down something that for five years, we've hit record numbers in terms of impact, in terms of jobs we've created, or people we've placed,” said Karp.
The funding freeze doesn’t just affect MAGNET—it also impacts the businesses it works with. One of those companies is Jergens, which tests its products at MAGNET.
"We're going to have to go probably to a third party, might be that third party might be out of state to get it tested, which is, which is a shame,” said Jack Schron, president of Jergens Inc.
Back in December, Senator Jon Husted sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Commerce demanding the funding be reinstated—or that evidence justifying the freeze be released. He also hasn’t received any updates.
RELATED: Senators demand answers after MAGNET funding halt
"I’m not happy about it ... if you say there's something wrong, I want to see it,” Husted continued. “I've asked the Department of Commerce to restore the funding, because they have not provided that information. We are calling them on a weekly basis to ask for that information, because I think it's wrong to suspend funding for somebody on the suggestion that they did something wrong without evidence, and so we will stay on matter.”
As for MAGNET, Karp says even if funding is restored, getting back to normal will take time.
"Now that we've reduced staff, yes, some of them might come back, but I wouldn't expect anybody who's found another job to come back. So, it is a rebuild,” said Karp
For now, MAGNET hopes this is the last round of layoffs as it continues fighting to stay operational.
“I have fullest confidence that we will figure out how to reinvent ourselves to be sustainable, even without the funding,” said Karp.
News 5 reached out to the US Department of Commerce for comment and has yet to hear back.
