From the HERE City State Desk
Cardinal Glass Industries plans to close its plant in Statesboro, eliminating 115 jobs, according to a layoff notice filed with the state.
The notice, posted Tuesday in Georgia’s public list of filings under the federal WARN Act, lists the plant on Zell Miller Parkway as a closure effective Dec. 6. It is the company’s only WARN filing on record in Georgia. The listing does not give a reason for the shutdown.
Federal law generally requires covered employers to give 60 days’ notice before a plant closing or mass layoff. Workers affected by such notices typically keep their regular pay and benefits until the effective date.
Cardinal took over the 400,000-square-foot building in late 2021 after Apogee Enterprises announced it would close the Viracon glass plant there. Cardinal reached a deal to buy the plant that October, closed the sale in December and kept about 175 workers on the job.
At the time, the company planned to turn the site into a laminating plant for its residential glass business, with $10 million to $15 million in capital improvements, including a highly automated cutting and tempering line.
Workers in Bulloch County can seek job search and retraining help through the state’s career center in Statesboro.
Human resources manager Sabrina Vasher said Kyle Peterson, president of Cardinal’s Laminating Glass division, saw the Viracon closure news the day it was announced and immediately pursued the plant. She said every employee who wanted to continue working kept their job after the sale. Plant Manager David Beecher, who also managed the site for Viracon, said the team is resilient and gets better every day. Vasher said the laminating department is running 24/7.
