‘We are Main Street’ — Miele Group: Ruling on skills games, inaction a threat to jobs
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After 91 years of operation, the Miele Group is in danger of losing 90% of its workforce because of the state's looming deadline to shut down skill machines next month. Miele is the biggest manufacturer and operator of skill machines in the commonwealth.
"We're not just talking about our industry jobs being lost. We're talking about really good family sustaining jobs being lost and no one is even thinking about those jobs. We have 170 employees, most of which we would have to lay off," said Jeff Millay, chief officer of operations with Miele.
The job losses won't end there. Since Miele's machines are built with Pennsylvania products, their vendors will also see job losses. Everything from cardboard, steel, nuts, bolts and paint come from around the state. One estimate put jobs losses from the skill machine industry at around 30,000 statewide.
"We have stopped building machines. We have kept our employees busy doing other projects but, unfortunately, some of our suppliers are starting to feel the crunch and there are massive amounts of jobs that are about to be lost because this program is going to come to an end," stated Millay.
Local losses will extend beyond parts suppliers. For instance, Miele's trucking fleet was purchased locally and continues to be serviced by Blaise Alexander Family Dealerships.
"We bought 100 vehicles over the years and there is a salesman somewhere that got a bonus because of this. Those 100 vehicles aren't going to be needed anymore," offered the COO.
Millay said that the skill machine industry has been targeted by the casino industry.
"We're the little guys and we are Main Street Pennsylvania people. We are not Wall Street. We are fighting the casinos. They hate us. If you look at the history of this thing, there is a John Grisham novel here somewhere," said Millay.
Miele Manufacturing started in 1935 with just one jukebox. Throughout the years, the company expanded to providing and maintaining pinball games, arcade games, pool tables, dart boards and digital jukeboxes. In addition to their Muncy headquarters, they have offices in Erie, Clearfield, Leesport and Hanover.
There are now two bills in the state legislature addressing the skill machines' shut down, which have bipartisan support. Senate Bill 1079 was introduced by Republican Sen. Gene Yaw and Democrat Sen. Anthony Williams. In addition, Democrat Rep. Danilo Burgos and Republican Rep. Jonathan Fritz introduced House Bill 2213.
Both bills seek to impose a $500 monthly fee on each terminal. If the bills pass, they would generate $300 million a year for the state. Senate bill 1079 was introduced in November 2025, while House bill 2213 was presented in February this year. To date, no action has been taken on either bill.
"Why hasn't leadership on both sides spoken to these companies [that build skill machines]? They have no idea these are Pennsylvania jobs. These aren't simple jobs. These are technicians on the street. They have to understand electronics and how electricity works," said Millay.
Long before skill machines were in the crosshairs, Miele and other machine manufacturers had asked for government oversight of the industry.
'We asked for regulation. We've asked for it for years. Regulate us. Who goes to Harrisburg and asks to be regulated? People thought we were nuts but we wanted to protect the business that we grew here in Pennsylvania," stated Millay. "At 300,000 million a year, the state could have had billions of dollars by now. They weren't listening."
According to Millay, they have already felt the impact of the October 13 deadline, which mandates the shut down of skill machines. Enforcement would be handled by Pennsylvania State Police.
"They have been visiting locations in uniform for the last 3 or 4 weeks threatening to arrest [store owners and club management], if they have games on the 14th. State police have spent hundreds of thousands in manpower to tell locations that they are going to be arrested," said Millay. "We have lost locations already."
Millay recalled a recent conversation with an employee, who was tearful because she feared for her future and had just purchased a home. In the end, she had to resign.
"We are losing good people. They're scared," lamented Millay. "We are a 91 year old family owned company that is facing billion dollar companies that are traded on Nasdaq that want every dollar they can get and that is the casinos. Call leadership and tell them that you want to save Pennsylvania jobs. We are going to fight to the end."