GREENE – Market conditions have forced Chenango County’s largest private employer to make the difficult decision of consolidating the manufacturing process for one of its lift truck lines. There is a silver lining for the company’s Greene headquarters, however, where the move will both save 100 existing jobs and create at least 65 new local employment opportunities.

The Raymond Corporation announced Monday that it will close the Brantford, Ontario plant where its Reach-Fork truck line is assembled. That production will be shifted to Greene, where the design, engineering and prefabrication of the line of material handling trucks already takes place.

“The immediate impact (in Greene) is about 165 people,” explained Raymond President and CEO Jim Malvaso following a press conference on Monday. This includes the retention of approximately 50 jobs that were targeted for layoffs, and the return to full time of another 50 employees who are currently participating in work share or skip week programs.

An additional 65 jobs will be created over the next 10 to 20 weeks, Malvaso added, primarily for welders, assemblers, fabricators and quality assurance staff.

In the long term, the move could lead to even more new jobs at the Greene facility, according to the corporate executive.

“When this economy recovers, and it will ... we anticipate adding another 3-400 jobs here in Greene,” Malvaso reported.