Lasco Bathware Inc., a maker of bathtubs, showers and whirlpool tubs, has laid off 149 workers in Anaheim.
The move comes months after Lasco let go of up to 100 workers at its factory in Georgia.
Lasco, like many businesses, rode the housing boom of the past few years but now faces falling profits as fewer homes are being built and less people are refinancing their homes to pay for improvements.
“The layoffs were a result of the slowdown in the housing market,” Lasco spokesman David McFarland said. “We had to scale down to meet the current state of the business. With the severe drop in business across the country, we have to restructure production in order to remain efficient and get through the downturn.”
Lasco, part of London’s Tomkins PLC, doesn’t foresee any more job cuts, according to McFarland.
“We hope not to have any more layoffs, but we are monitoring the demand,” he said.
Lasco counts more than 1,500 workers at its Anaheim Hills headquarters and a factory elsewhere in Anaheim, plus in Washington, Nevada, Texas, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Georgia.
Lasco produces a fourth of all showers, tubs and bathing fixtures sold in the U.S., according to the company.
It generates $100 million to $500 million in yearly sales making bathroom fixtures that are found in homes developed by national builders such as Dallas-based Centex Corp., Beazer Homes USA Inc. of Atlanta and Los Angeles-based KB Home.
National hotel chains and universities use Lasco products, which also are sold by home improvement retailers such as Home Depot Inc.
Tomkins, a publicly traded automotive and industrial parts maker that generates more than $3 billion in yearly sales, bought Lasco in 1990 after it spent nearly a decade acquiring companies such as auto
parts maker Gates Corp. of Denver for $1.16 billion.
Having a large parent company has helped Lasco stay afloat during difficult times, McFarland said.
“We’ve had tremendous support from our parent company through this downturn,” he said. “The support will allow us to be a better company when the market looks up.”
Still, Lasco has other challenges to deal with.
Namely, the rising cost of fuel and petroleum products and competition from products made overseas.
Although the company could cut costs by manufacturing its products overseas, Lasco wants to keep production in America, McFarland said.
“We want to keep our quality and service in tact. We won’t move manufacturing overseas,” he said.
Lasco plans to generate business by tapping other construction markets and creating new products, McFarland said.
The company plans to sell bathroom fixtures to hotels, resorts, hospitals, universities and apartment developers, he said.
“Commercial construction is definitely going to be our focus because it hasn’t been affected as much,” McFarland said. “Despite the volatility, we see a calm on the horizon and we believe there is business and growth to be had on the other side of this downturn.” n
