Layoffs Announced At Owens Corning Fiberglass Plant In Amarillo

It was a blow to longtime employees at the local Owens Corning insulation factory in south Amarillo. The fiberglass manufacturer announced to employees this week that they will furlough roughly 205 employees locally. The temporary layoffs will take place August 5 through May 2021, meaning affected employees will be without pay for 9 months.

The company says that the layoffs are in part due to the impacts of the coronavirus, but also a planned furnace rebuild. During that construction period they will not be able to operate manufacturing at their normal capacity. When workers return in May 2021, production is also schedule to resume.

This is not the first time the Amarillo plant has faced layoffs. In 2008, roughly 270 workers were laid off from the location. At that time, that number was half the plant's workforce. In 2010, those workers were invited to return as demand for fiberglass grew and the plant's production needs when back up.

From an article posted on NewsChannel10.com, they say that Owens Corning issued a written notice to the affected employees and provided provisions of the Federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act on June 11.