Briggs & Stratton will lay off about 160 workers as part of changes to the production of its home standby and engine components, the company said Friday.

Briggs & Stratton "remains committed to the Milwaukee community and will maintain a strong local presence with its corporate headquarters and a number of other local facilities and functions," the Wauwatosa-based company said in a statement.

"The transition allows us to consolidate production into facilities that manufacture similar Briggs and Stratton products, which will minimize freight costs, streamline processes, allow us to build products faster and more quickly respond to customer needs," the statement said.

"Impacted employees were given a minimum of 60-days notice of this transition. We thank these employees for their time and dedication to the Company and are committed to providing them with support throughout the transition. In some cases, we will provide employment opportunities within other Briggs & Stratton operations."

The Milwaukee Business Journal was first to report the layoffs.

Brad Dorff, sub-district director for sub-district 7 for the United Steelworkers union, said workers were notified of the layoffs on Thursday and it amounts to about 50% of the workforce at the Burleigh Street plant.

The layoffs will happen in stages throughout the year but it will equal roughly 160 workers.

“It takes the wind out of you when you find out you’re losing your job or the place that you’ve worked at for years, I mean we’ve had some members who have worked there 40 years or over 40 years, and to find out where they’ve worked their whole life is going to be gone, it’s hard,” Dorff said adding the union plans to bargain for severance packages and other details for workers who have been impacted.

Dorff said he expects to hear from many upset workers about the layoffs.

“Brings has been a part of this community for years and years and years. I mean, years ago we had 10,000 members there," he said. "And to watch the numbers, how they’ve whittled down over the years, it’s been heartbreaking.”

Dorff said the company is moving home standby generator production line to Alabama and moving the engine components line to Missouri.

In April 2022, the company closed a distribution center in Germantown.

In 2020, Briggs & Stratton filed for bankruptcy and was bought by KPS Capital Partners, a New York private equity firm.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Briggs & Stratton to layoff about 160 workers