Metal manufacturer to lay off nearly 150 in Lakeville, Shakopee, Plymouth
J&E Companies will lay off 45 employees from its Lakeville site alone, including welders, machine operators, process engineers, plant managers, drivers and other job classifications. A letter to the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development, dated June 2, indicated that the layoffs will take effect that same day 'due to financial difficulties and circumstances,' and that 'a potential sale of the business' had fallen through.
The workers are non-unionized and do not have bumping rights, according to the company's letter, which is signed by a corporate adviser from Harney Partners.
J&E Companies was founded more than 65 years ago and provided precision machining and fabrication services to the medical, aerospace, commercial and agricultural industries, according to its website. In 2022, it acquired R&B, a Wisconsin-based precision machining company with more than 100 employees. In all, the merged companies maintained six sites in Minnesota, Racine, Wis. and Reynosa, Mexico, with a combined total of 325 employees.
A call to a company spokesperson was not immediately returned on Wednesday.
Whitebridge Capital Partners announced Wednesday it is acquiring the major assets of R&B Grinding of Racine, which will be renamed RB Industrial Manufacturing LLC, 'in recognition of the full range of machining processes the company can provide from its 140,000 square foot facility,' reads a statement from Whitebridge, which specializes in distressed manufacturing companies.
'We're not involved in the Minnesota operations at all,' said Todd DiBenedetto, principal with Whitebridge Capital Partners, in a brief phone interview on Wednesday. He said the Mexican plant was still in operation, and 'we are looking at it. We may get involved with it in the future, but right this second, we're not.'
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