Production at a Fort Dodge glove making plant came to a halt Thursday. Ansell Hawkeye Glove Manufacturing closed its facility after 42 years of operation.

With the closing, 22 jobs were lost. Operations manager Mark Lolley said the closing of the Fort Dodge plant was due to budget cuts at the Pentagon. The U.S. Department of Defense was the major customer of the gloves made at the facility.

Lolley said there will also be layoffs at Ansell Hawkeye plants in Arkansas, Illinois and Michigan. The gloves were used by soldiers, firefighters and hunters. At one time, the glove company had more than 75 employees at the Fort Dodge plant.

By Pat Powers, KQWC, Webster City