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Venice Window Manufacturer Lays Off More Than 100 Employees

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Sarasota Herald-Tribune

Published: October 25, 2007

PGT Inc., the Venice-based window and door maker, is laying off employees in the wake of a struggling housing market.

The company, which employs 2,200 in Venice and Salisbury, N.C., is expected to offer more specifics later today, but some familiar with PGT are putting the number of layoffs at nearly 180. An employee said that the company was taking its work force back to the 2004 levels, the early days of the housing boom.

Like a lot of companies with exposure to the housing industry, PGT has been hit hard by the downturn. Demand for its hurricane-resistant windows and doors has plummeted.

The company reported profits that dropped 72 percent during the second quarter. Profits were about $2.8 million, or 10 cents per share, compared with $10 million, or 55 cents per share, in the year ago period.

Revenues fell nearly 27 percent, from $108.7 million to $79.7.

"Compared to the second quarter of 2006, the industry experienced a decline in housing permits of 46 percent in the second quarter of 2007," Rod Hershberger, PGT's president and chief executive, said at the time of the release of second quarter figures.

The company's shares, which trade on the Nasdaq, were selling for $8.11 in morning trading on Thursday, down 1 cent.

The company said in August that it is seeking to control costs and boost the reach of its products in the face of the housing slowdown.

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