Graymont restructures, cuts back in Tacoma

Graymont has announced it will restructure its Tacoma operation and lay off an undetermined number of employees from its Blair Waterway plant.

Hal Lee, Graymont health, safety and environmental manager, said Thursday, “We’re no longer going to manufacture there.”

Graymont employs 30 people at its processing facility. The company produces precipitated calcium carbonate and quicklime.

“The future site of the remaining hydrate and pulverized limestone operations will also be reviewed in the coming weeks. Unfortunately, some of the thirty employees at the plant will be laid off,” the company said in a release.

“What we can say is that we are going to have a presence in the Pacific Northwest,” Lee said in a phone interview. “We’ll look at all of the different assets we have.”

Concerning the timing of the restructuring, Lee said, “We can’t say for sure.”

Likewise, the company has not yet determined how many of the 30 Tacoma employees will be laid off.

“We haven’t done this analysis yet,” Lee said.

The restructuring was required because of the loss of a major customer, he said.

This story was originally published March 17, 2016 at 1:19 PM with the headline "Graymont restructures, cuts back in Tacoma."