New Hampshire company has 'No layoff' policy

UNDATED -- A factory in New Hampshire has a policy that makes it stand out, especially in a volatile economy.

It looks like any other factory, but there's something about Hypertherm that is different from many other companies.

"We've had a no layoff policy at Hypertherm since the very beginning," said Dick Couch, Founder and CEO.

Dick Couch has built his business around the employees, which means that they're carefully selected before completing an elaborate training.

"We work hard to recruit people to come to Hypertherm, and work hard to train them to develop experience with our equipment so we want to keep them," Couch said.

That business philosophy is saving a lot of jobs now. When tough times started hitting, instead of cuts - employees were redeployed within the company.

"It looked like we weren't going to be doing as much hiring, so at that point, a lot of the daily activity that I was involved in slowed down," said Jonathan Murphy, marketing specialist.

Jonathan Murphy was a recruiting specialist - but when the company slowed down its hiring, Murphy was moved to a marketing position.

"It's very reassuring that during these times of change and recession that I don't have to worry about my job changing - I don't have to worry about the company I'm working for changing," Murphy said.

Hypertherm is also employee owned, and the staff says that having an ownership stake in the company makes a big difference in morale.

"It empowers associates to feel that they're involved in every decision that's being made," Murphy said.

Couch says that environment encourages creativity and productivity. And in tough times, the employees say that kind of attention is especially important.

"If you feel confident that your employers are looking out for you, it makes it fun and easy to come to work even in these tough times," said Ann Thompson, who works in the marketing department.

(Copyright 2009 NBC News Channel. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)