GUILFORD – A majority of Pride Manufacturing Co. employees at the Guilford and Burnham plants are having Thanksgiving week off without pay as the company scaled down its operations to match inventory with sales.

Randy Decker, Burnham plant manager, confirmed Monday that many of the employees are having the week off without pay. The approximately 100 employees affected, however, had an opportunity to use the week as a paid vacation week or paid personal time, he said.

Decker said a skeleton crew was working this week to respond to customer needs.

A similar layoff without pay is planned for Christmas week, according to Decker. He said most employees would be eligible for unemployment benefits that week.

The two weeks off without pay were planned since early September, Decker said.