A die-casting company this week announced it will close two of its Muskegon-based-locations next month, resulting in the loss of nearly 250 jobs.
In a recent Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act filing with the state of Michigan, Pace Industries citied “financial trouble” as the reasoning behind the decision to close its 2121 Latimer Drive location in Muskegon.
The company says the first of 244 layoffs will come on Dec. 20th, and the facility will close permanently on Dec. 31st.
WGVU reached out to Pace Industries, at the time of this report, phone calls were not returned.
Cindy Larson is the President of the Muskegon Lakeshore Chamber of Commerce. She says its tough to hear so many are losing their jobs just before the Christmas holiday, but employment for those seeking it will not be hard to come by.
“Anytime a community loses jobs it certainly is a tragedy, and we do not take it lightly,” Larson said. “Yet at the same time, we can absorb those jobs right away. There are plenty of opportunities for people to be re-employed immediately within the community, so that is the good side of this story; however, it is always a loss to lose a company like that. We are just very fortunate that individuals that want to pick up high quality work right in their hometown, that is not going to be a problem.”
With its corporate headquarters located in Novi, Michigan, Pace Industries lists four manufacturing facilities in Muskegon on its website. It has not disclosed which facility other than the Latimer Drive location will shut down in December.
