MARYSVILLE — Milgard Manufacturing Inc. will shut down its Marysville factory, as the sluggish economy continues to bring down its service demand, the company said Tuesday.
The door and window factory’s closure is set to happen over a 10-week period starting Oct. 24; it will affect about 80 nonunion workers, according to the Washington state Employment Security Department.
It was unclear as of Tuesday evening how many workers will actually lose their jobs. Milgard aims to move its manufacturing operations to its Tacoma plant, while keeping its sales and service sectors in Marysville, according to a statement from the company.
“Addressing difficult market conditions is always challenging, especially when people’s lives are affected,” the statement read.
Milgard, which makes doors and windows for homes, is suffering from the slow housing market. The state had about 212,8000 construction jobs in August, according to the employment security department. That’s 6,400 jobs less than a year ago.
Home sales continued to fall in Snohomish County during September, according to a recent Northwest Multiple Listing Service report. Pending sales were down 6.8 percent last month, combined with a 29 percent drop in closed sales for September, the listing service reported.
Barbara Motley, a spokeswoman for the Tacoma-based company, didn’t return calls from The Herald on Tuesday.
The factory shutdown was announced five days after Meridian Yachts, one of north Snohomish County’s largest employers, said it will close its doors within 60 days because of a dramatic decline in boat sales nationwide. Earlier this year, the Arlington boat-builder had about 830 employees. All but a few customer service workers are expected to lose their jobs.
State officials will soon contact Milgard workers affected by the factory closure so that they can get unemployment insurance and other help, said Jennifer Peppin, a spokeswoman for the employment security department.
“We always encourage them to visit our local WorkSource offices,” Peppin said.
Those offices provide free services for job-seekers, Peppin said.
“We are absolutely seeing more people coming to our WorkSource offices looking for work,” she said.
Reporter Yoshiaki Nohara: 425-339-3029 or ynohara@heraldnet.com.
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