BROOKINGS Twenty professional jobs at Larson Manufacturing are being moved to a Chicago suburb, according to the storm door makers parent company. The affected Brookings employees will face a choice to either relocate or accept a severance package.
Parent company Fortune Brand Innovations said in a release they are consolidating regional administrative offices nationwide into a two-building campus in Deerfield, made possible in part through tax credits from the state of Illinois. They plan to have more than 1,000 employees working out of the new center by the end of 2027. Fortunes digital headquarters will be in San Francisco. The companys manufacturing, distribution, sales offices and international facilities will be unaffected.
In an email, a company spokesperson for Fortune told The Register that production jobs in Brookings will not be impacted and the 20 people affected are being asked to relocate.
The spokesperson said, we understand that some will choose to remain in their current city, and for those who elect not to move with their job, we are making sure they are supported with benefits and resources, including severance pay, COBRA and outplacement services. Associates who opt out of relocation will have a minimum 90-day advanced notice of their last day of work, and some associates will have a much longer notice period.
Fortune Brands announced a timeframe of between July and September for the job relocations. The company is offering impacted workers an expenses-paid site visit, an enhanced relocation assistance program, and in most cases, an increase in base pay if employees choose to move.
Fortune is the parent corporation of a number of other companies, including Moen, Therma-Tru and Master Lock. According to Forbes, the corporation has a market cap or total value of outstanding shares of stock of $9.06 billion.
Larson Manufacturing was founded in 1954 by Oscar Larson, who initially ran the company as a one-man operation. In 1961, a manufacturing plant was built in Lake Mills, Iowa and the Brookings facility opened in 1964.
Dale Larson began his career with Larson Manufacturing in 1962, and led the expansion of manufacturing to Brookings. When Oscar Larson died in 1968, Dale Larson became the Larson Manufacturing Company president and CEO.
Dale Larson remains a prominent Brookings and South Dakota philanthropist, donating tens of millions to numerous causes and groups, including the Humanities Council, Habitat for Humanity, the Boys & Girls Club of the Northern Plains and the Brookings Ice Skating Association Larson Ice Center in Brookings bears his name.
Fortune Brands completed their acquisition of Larson in December of 2020. In September of 2022, Fortune closed the Iowa plant and Larson facilities in Texas and Mississippi a move that resulted in 300 employee layoffs.
Contact Jay Roe at [email protected].
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