Chair and furniture manufacturers HJ Berry and Sons Ltd in Chipping confirmed the move yesterday, Tuesday.
But managers stress the change in working is only temporary and they are anticipating a return to normal early in the new year.
"By going on short time we are looking to bolster the order book to go back to full time shortly after Christmas," said a spokesman.
"Things are very difficult out there at the moment, but we hope they will pick up by then or early in the new year. We are not laying anyone off."
Meanwhile other businesses in the Longridge area are also starting to feel the pinch - not least the town's pubs.
Many licensees reported this week that trading was tough, but they remained optimistic that custom would pick up through December and over the usually busy Christmas period.
"It's a question of staying steady at the moment and working harder at giving our customers what they want rather than them going elsewhere," said Bull and Royal publican Andrew Hunt.
There wasn't much of a welcome for the measures announced this week in Chancellor Alistair Darling's pre-budget report, with the cut in VAT dismissed as a 'waste of time' by Durham Ox landlady Irene Nuttall.
She added: "Look how everything went up in March, council tax, business rates,then there's the minimum wage, the smoking ban and supermarkets selling alcohol, it all hits us," while Paul McNeil at the Corporation Arms saw the government as "giving with one hand and taking with two.''
Alex Coward at The Forrest Arms and Thyme Restaurant said: "It's a tough time for everyone with extremely hard work and a lot of pressure coping with the downturn over the last few months.
"Our cutbacks have been mainly operational, but we've noticed weekdays are quieter and are now looking forward to December being busier."
Elsewhere in the Longridge business community it was a similar story of tightening belts and weathering the economic storm, but with firms adamant they would only make redundancies as a very "last resort".
Longridge builder and estate agent Chris Dewhurst said businesses need "to do all they can to adapt, diversify and work harder.''
The MD of Dewhurst Homes and Dewhurst Construction said that in his case, by following that principle, he'd managed to take on extra staff and had seen the rental side of his business booming, but believed too many had been bailed out financially by the government and feared rocketing interest rates could follow next summer as a result.
And there were some other success stories still to found - with joinery manufacturers Herbert T Forrest and Son looking toward a 'rosy future' with a bulging £140m order book.
Turnover for the company, which operates in the public sector, has increased from £8m in 2002 to this year's £45m, and managing director Tim Forrest commented: "The government has indicated that it will not reduce spending in our areas of operation, in fact is more likely to increase spending to boost the economy.''