We are sorry to share that the impact of COVID-19 and new regulations from the Food & Drug Administration are forcing EcoGen Laboratories to permanently lay off 101 employees across western Colorado, including at its six locations in Grand Junction, one in Mack and one in Olathe. The layoffs began June 17 and are expected to be completed by July 1.

“It’s definitely something that we never want to see happen,” said Grand Junction Economic Partnership Deputy Director Steve Jozefczyk to The Daily Sentinel. “When it does, though, the best thing we can do is try to find a way for those displaced employees to get jobs with other companies that might be hiring in the area. Connecting them to the (Mesa County) Workforce Center would be the first step in that.”

The Mesa County Workforce Center provides job placement services, career advice, workforce development and more to job seekers and local employers. The Workforce Center is currently working with INFOCU5, a tech company that announced its move to Grand Junction last week and plans to hire upward 300 employees in Grand Junction over the next three years. The company has already hired around 30 displaced Startek workers and plans a job fair here in July.