Building Materials Manufacturing lays off 120 workers

Building Materials Manufacturing, LLC will shut its Minneapolis facility and lay off 120 employees effective April 4, according to a notice filed with the state this week.

The roofing materials manufacturer that makes waterproofing and roofing products for GAF Corp. will permanently shutter its plant at 50 Lowry Av. N.

The reason for the layoffs was not immediately clear.

The Maple Grove warehouse is not impacted.

Building Material’s parent company is New Jersey-based GAF, which is one of the largest roofing and waterproofing companies in North America with 30 U.S. locations and 4,800 employees.

A GAF spokesperson reached Tuesday said the decision to sunset the Minneapolis plant was partially tied to the age of the building and equipment and the need to invest efficiently across its nationwide network, which stretches “coast to coast.”

GAF appears to be in the midst of some restructuring. A related company in New Jersey, GAF Materials, filed a WARN notice in New Jersey in October announcing it planned to lay off 106 employees at a location there.

Workers affected by the Minneapolis closure and layoffs include hourly employees who are represented by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 970 and/or the National Conference of Firemen & Oilers Local 939, according to the WARN notice.

Affected Teamsters workers with seniority will have what is known as “bumping rights” and may be able to retain their jobs.

Officials at the company could not be reached for comment.

Officials with the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development said they have engaged the State Rapid Response Team to assist workers losing jobs.

According to the WARN notice, the Lowry Avenue layoffs affect a wide range of positions, including engineers, plant managers, electricians, forklift drivers, slate loaders, truckers, and shipping specialists.

Building Materials is the second company to announce layoffs so far this month.

On Jan. 5, Wabash National Services LP announced it would begin idling its manufacturing plant in Little Falls in March, a move that would impact at least 16 workers.

Last week, DEED announced that Minnesota’s monthly job growth was flat in December and the state’s unemployment rate ticked up one-tenth of a percentage point to 4.1%.

The tepid jobs report, however, showed that manufacturers in the state added 2,200 jobs last month.

Even so, the entire private sector lost 1,700 jobs between November and December on a seasonally adjusted basis. Those losses were offset by the local government subsector, which gained 1,700 jobs in December.