MASON, Ohio — The city of Mason will lose hundreds of jobs by next year when the eyewear company EssilorLuxottica consolidates marketing jobs in New York and other corporate functions in Dallas.
But hundreds of jobs will remain in Mason, where the EyeMed Vision Insurance plan will continue to operate along with legal, IT and other divisions.
The restructuring was unveiled to Luxottica employees in Mason last week. It’s the result of a 2018 merger between Italy’s Luxottica Group, which operates a North American headquarters in Mason, and Essilor, a French lens manufacturer whose North American headquarters is in Dallas.
At the time of the merger, Luxottica had about 1,900 employees in Mason. That number now stands at about 1,500, according to Luxottica spokeswoman Jane Lehman.
“Bringing our teams closer together from a geographic standpoint will allow us to better collaborate and build a single culture that reflects the shared values of Essilor and Luxottica,” Lehman said. “Nearly every impacted employee has been offered a similar role in our New York City and Dallas locations, including a cost-of-living salary adjustment and relocation support, and no function will be moving before May 2022.”
Mason Economic Development Director Michele Blair said the city is “optimistic about the future” because Luxottica’s “fastest growing business unit” is not leaving town.
“EyeMed is a great fit within Mason’s 250-acre growing BioHub,” Blair said. “Accompanying approximately 10 other key biohealth sector companies located within one mile and totaling over 6,500 jobs within the network, EyeMed HQ is in good company.”
Mason resident Sanjay Patel said he is concerned about the downsizing of Mason’s second-largest employer.
“When you see something like this go, there’s a lot of other ancillary businesses, like manufacturing, design, that are probably going to be impacted. So, it is quite concerning,” said Patel, CEO of Fusion LLC, a real estate development company.
