GUILFORD – Twenty-five positions will be eliminated from Guilford of Maine’s manufacturing operations, a company official announced Wednesday.

Paul Mahaffey, vice president of operations for Guilford of Maine, said in a prepared statement that the company’s weaving operations in Guilford would experience the majority of the reductions.

Employees were notified in meetings Wednesday that the layoffs will be effective Aug. 9.

A decrease in sales volume has caused the manufacturing operations to be on a reduced schedule since the last week of May, according to Mahaffey. Many employees have worked 32 hours per week since then, he said. It is expected that these employees will return to a 40-hour week after the reductions.

The company’s Leonard G. Saulter yarn-making facility in Guilford and its Newport operation will not be affected by this reduction, he said.

“Although we remain in a very slow business environment, it is important to us to get as many of our employees as possible back to a 40-hour work week,” Mahaffey said. “We regret that we had to experience layoffs in order to achieve this.”

There are no further employee reductions planned in the manufacturing operations at this time, according to the prepared statement. Mahaffey cautioned, however, that “the company must continue to respond to our customers’ needs, and those needs may change.”

The office furniture industry, of which Guilford of Maine is a major supplier, has suffered from sluggish sales since the end of last year, according to Mahaffey. Office furniture, often a discretionary expense, is one of the first projects to be placed on hold in times of a questionable economy, he said.

Guilford of Maine is a manufacturer of textile products for commercial interiors with sites in Guilford and Newport, East Douglas, Mass., Grand Rapids, Mich., and Granby, Quebec.