UL Solutions to lay off 20% of its staff in Melville

UL Solutions LLC, formerly known as Underwriters Laboratories, will lay off more than 20% of its remaining workforce in Melville, starting in June, according to a regulatory filing.

The product-safety testing giant will terminate 61 of its 289 employees between June 7 and March 2026 because of “economic” factors, it stated in a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification, or WARN, to the state Department of Labor.

UL "has made the decision to transition the laboratory-related work at our Melville facility to other locations," company spokeswoman Susan J. Nadeau told Newsday.

"Our goal is to retain employees where possible. In the event a new role can't be found, we will offer severance packages and outplacement assistance," she said on Monday.

The layoffs follow a continual shrinking of UL’s office at 1285 Walt Whitman Rd., where in the early 2000s nearly 900 people were employed. As recently as 2014, the company employed 440 locally.

Illinois-based UL has been in Melville for 61 years, with a focus on testing plastics since the early 1970s. It has more than 40 offices in the United States, including another New York State office in Latham, near Albany.

Nadeau said on Monday that the company "is committed to retaining an engineering and technical presence in the greater Melville area to serve customers in the Northeast region and elsewhere." She also said all employees facing layoff have been notified.

UL, which certifies the safety of everything from toasters to industrial equipment, underwent a cost-cutting program in the early 2000s that led to the termination of hundreds of mostly U.S. workers and outsourcing 40% of its computer services operation.

At the same time, the company expanded its testing operations in the Far East and Europe.

The WARN comes about 1½ weeks after UL announced the opening of a testing lab in Arkansas. It replaces another company facility in the state. That new 100,000-square-foot lab will focus on consumer products and answering the questions of retailers.

“Our investment in this transformative Retail Center of Excellence underscores our commitment to helping our customers bring successful new products to market quicker than ever,” UL CEO Jennifer Scanlon said on Feb. 27, referring to the new Arkansas lab.

By James T. Madore

james.madore@newsday.comJamesTMadore

James T. Madore writes about Long Island business news including the economy, development, and the relationship between government and business. He previously served as Albany bureau chief.