Ingersoll-Rand has laid off another 25 employees at the Southern Pines plant, again attributing the move to the economic slump.

The latest layoffs are in addition to 29 announced in early February.

Jacob Sutton, human resources director for the Southern Pines Ingersoll plant, confirmed the layoffs in a brief telephone interview Friday morning.

Sutton said the layoffs include both hourly and salaried employees across the plant and were effective Thursday.

"We're very low on business, as far as volume is concerned right now," Sutton said. "It was just necessary."

Sutton said he could not supply additional details and declined to answer a question about the number of employees remaining at the local plant.

Ingersoll-Rand bought the plant on U.S. 1 in 1990 when the company acquired the ARO Corp.

At that time, 180 employees were on the payroll. In 2008 the Employment Security Com-mission reported that the plant ranked 24th among the top 25 employers in Moore County.

In February, Susan Jaramillo, director of communications for Ingersoll-Rand's Industrial Technology Sector, which includes the Southern Pines facility, attributed the layoffs to a "decrease in volume because of the economy."

She told The Pilot that five employees volunteered for the layoffs and 24 more were let go.

Ingersoll-Rand is a New Jersey-based global diversified industrial company. Ingersoll-Rand also produces products under a number of different brand names, including Club Car golf carts, Hussman refrigeration equipment, Schlage locks, Thermo King transport temperature-control equipment and Trane air conditioning services.

The Southern Pines plant produces varied products, primarily on the tool side of the company's industrial operations. Ingersoll-Rand, which owns plants across the country and overseas, was established in 1871.

Contact Florence Gilkeson at 947-4962 or florence@thepilot.com.