Tacoma loses 120 jobs as Georgia-Pacific shuts down manufacturing plant, citing housing slump

A nearly 100-year-old major building products and consumer goods company, Georgia-Pacific, is shutting down its Tacoma facility and laying off 120 employees.

The Georgia-based company is closing its gypsum plant at 1240 Alexander Avenue in Tacoma, which produces gypsum-based building materials.

The company also manufactures bath tissue, paper towels, napkins, tableware, paper-based packaging, rigid food containers, cling film, cellulose, and building products.

All affected employees are expected to be laid off by Oct. 30, though some employment end dates may come sooner or later depending upon business needs, according to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) filing.

Company blames declining home sales, slowing repair and remodel market

The company stated that the decision to shutter the facility came down to “several challenging market conditions” that have impacted the gypsum industry.

“Since 2022, there has been an ongoing decline in consumer repair and remodel activity, which is the primary driver of demand for our products, especially gypsum,” Georgia-Pacific wrote in its blog.

Georgia-Pacific also pointed to a 30-year low in sales of existing homes, or home turnover, which directly affects its repair and remodel activity and is “not showing signs of improvement.”

“This decision is not a reflection of the hard work and efforts of the Tacoma team,” Georgia-Pacific stated. “Looking forward, we believe we can continue to satisfy our customers’ demand from production at the remaining Georgia-Pacific facilities.”

Some employees may also remain past the anticipated layoff date to assist with the facility shutdown. Georgia-Pacific will provide all affected employees with at least 60 days’ pay and benefits, in accordance with WARN.

The layoffs affected a wide variety of positions, including managers, loaders, operators, supervisors, and other associates. A complete list of the impacted positions is available here.

“Georgia-Pacific’s focus in the coming weeks and months is to continue to safely operate while supporting affected employees during the transition and will work with them to provide access to local support agencies and job placement resources, including available opportunities within Georgia-Pacific or other Koch companies,” the company wrote.

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