MUNCIE, Ind. -- ASONS in Muncie is still open for business – but it's employees had to accept pay cuts to keep it that way.
A little more than a year ago, Gov. Mike Pence and Muncie's mayor announced hundreds of jobs would be created by 2024. Now those jobs are on hold indefinitely as the company struggles to survive.
ASONS is now down to 140 employees, making an average of $13.50 an hour. The company's chairman of the board asked workers to take 15 percent reductions in their salaries. He said most did.
"Some people gave less, some people gave more," said ASONS Chairman Milan Thompson. "But we got to the 15 percent."
The company says a manager who made false promises led it astray, causing the current financial problems.
"It's very discouraging," said Muncie Mayor Dennis Tyler. "We are doing everything we can. That is something we all should be concerned with."
Thompson says he eventually hopes to add more workers, but those plans are on hold until the business fully recovers.
