They knew it was coming, but now the reality has set in for recently laid-off employees from Harley-Davidson's York production plant.

About 60 of 71 recently terminated workers met Wednesday with the state's Department of Labor & Industry's Rapid Response team at the United Way of York. The team provided the employees with information about filing for unemployment and resources for the unemployed.

The job cuts were part of a group of layoffs announced when the company reported quarterly earnings in April.

Hallam resident Steve Thornsberry, 35, said he worked as an assembler at the plant for more than six years. He enjoyed the work, knowing that he was working to build motorcycles that people would take pleasure from.

Thornsberry said he's just glad to know that the "is-it-going-to-happen?" anticipation is over. He's hopeful he'll be called back to work, but he's also starting to think about getting more education so he can find a new job, he said.

He said he's also hopeful that the plant won't relocate, both for the future of his job and for the economic well-being of the county.

The company has said it will announce before the end of the year whether it's going to relocate the production facility, its largest, to another state.

The company said the plant isn't efficient in its use of facilities or the use of its work force. It has been working with the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers Local 175, which represents about 2,000 workers at the Springettsbury Township plant, to develop a plan to increase work force efficiency.

Good-bye's and Optimism: Laid-off third-shift assembly worker Tom White, 54, of Middletown, Dauphin County, said he's optimistic the company will stay in York because it and the union have been working well together.

"It's just a matter of what the company wants to do," he said.

Other workers who took part in the Rapid Response team meeting were also optimistic, White said.

He's not sure what type of work he wants to find; he's still settling into the financial "survival mode" of unemployment, he said.

Linda Tyson, 48, also an assembly worker, said she cried on her last day of work on Friday. She's going to miss her co-workers, she said.

"You're saying your good-byes," she said. "... You meet a lot of nice people."

Harry Berrier, 44, of Harrisburg, said he worked on the assembly line for about six years, and he was prepared for his job loss.

"You know the people on the bottom (of a seniority list) go first," he said.

He plans to take classes at York Technical Institute to become a motorcycle mechanic.

"I'm sticking with what I love," he said. "Building Harleys."

--Reach Christina Kauffman at 505-5436 or ckauffman@yorkdispatch.com.