EPHRATA — Wind tower manufacturer Katana Summit in Ephrata recently laid off 21 people citing a weakened economy.

The eliminated jobs included support and production positions, said the company’s Ephrata Plant Manager Bob Bainsky on Tuesday.

From what the company is seeing, it’s not expected the workers will be called back to work in the near future, he explained.

The plant kept the same shifts, but removed 21 people from the total workforce.

It’s hard to say if any more layoffs will happen in the future, he said.

“It really depends on what goes on in the industry,” Bainsky added.

It’s expected the government stimulus program will start either before this fall or before 2010, which is forecasted to be a strong year.

The Ephrata plant is located in a very good geographic area for the Pacific Northwest, he stated.

Katana’s customers include companies such as Mitsubishi, Suzlon and Repower, which are building wind tower sites for site developers.

If site developers aren’t able to obtain financing to install the turbines, business is affected, he explained.

The Ephrata location now employees more than 150 people.