Vermont Mask Company Lays Off 35

A Vermont company that makes protective masks for health care workers and emergency responders has laid off 35 employees as the spread of swine flu has declined.

The masks have been made by Triosyn Corp. in Williston. The masks carry an iodine-based agent that filters the air being breathed in.

A vice president for Triosyn's parent company, San Diego-based Safe Life Corp., tells the Burlington Free Press just as there's been a decline in the spread of the H1N1 virus, there's been a decline in demand for the respirators. Christie Huff says the expectation had been that the flu would run through April and return in the fall.

Huff says hiring would ramp up if the flu returns or if the government decides to stockpile the company's respirator.