THOMPSONTOWN, Pa. — In September, the Cabinetworks Group announced it was closing its Thompsontown assembly plant, and in October the company filed a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) notice with the Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry informing the agency that it will officially close the facility at 12393 William Penn Highway in Delaware Township, Juniata County, near Thompsontown.

According to the notice, 420 people will be affected. The layoffs are set to begin on December 9 and will continue through December 21.

Cabinetworks Group said that it was closing its assembly plant as a result of declining multi-family direct sales business. The company, the country’s largest privately-owned cabinetmaker, which ranks #13 on the FDMC 300 list of wood products manufacturers, said it plans to work with the local union and its Thompsontown employees assisting them with writing resumes, interview assistance, job fairs, and other resources.

"Yesterday (Sept. 17), we announced the difficult decision to close our Thompsontown, Pennsylvania, manufacturing facility, which primarily manufactures cabinets for the multi-family housing segment of the market," the company said in an email statement to Woodworking Network.

“These deteriorating market conditions drove our decision to exit the multi-family direct sales segment of our business, resulting in the closure of this facility and the retirement of all brands and product lines that are manufactured here,” explained CEO Jeff Jackson in a letter released to Thompsontown employees.

Difficulties in the multi-family market were also cited by the company when last July it announced that it would close manufacturing facilities in Marshall and Jefferson, Texas. The move affected 350 jobs. Facilities ceased operations on September 13. 

The company said this strategic decision will "optimize the company’s multi-family manufacturing network, leveraging capacity at more modernized and efficient manufacturing plants within its remaining 16-facility network."