Sacramento County-based construction company might soon lay off 165 workers. Here’s why
A Sacramento County-based construction company that manufactures large-scale solar panel projects plans to lay off 165 employees beginning in August, citing project delays leading to an insufficient amount of work.
In compliance with the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, Construction Innovations sent a letter last month to employees notifying them that layoffs would begin Aug. 21 and continue through Sept. 3.
The layoffs are a result of delayed business projects that have resulted in a lack of work for some of their employees, according to a June WARN Notice letter sent to Sacramento County elected officials. The company is based in Mather and has a second location in Florin Fruitridge Industrial Park.
“We regret to inform you that due to significant delays on several major projects, we are facing the difficult necessity of implementing layoffs,” Construction Innovations human resource director Laurie Bringuel said in the letter.
The letter said that Construction Innovations believes the layoffs to be temporary but cannot confirm whether or not they will be permanent. An agenda item on the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors’ Tuesday meeting referred to them as “potential permanent layoff(s).”
Construction Innovations did not immediately respond to The Sacramento Bee’s request for comment.
According to the letter, the company does not acknowledge “bumping rights,” and employees do not have any union representation. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, bumping rights are defined in a seniority system providing the rights of workers with greater seniority whose jobs are abolished to replace, or “bump,” workers with less seniority so that the worker who ultimately loses his or her job is not the worker whose job was abolished.
“While these layoffs are currently deemed necessary, it’s important to note that we view them as temporary. As a company that operates on a project-based model, our staffing requirements fluctuate based on project timelines and client needs,” Bringuel said in the letter sent to employees and elected officials.
Founded in 2011, according to its website, Construction Innovations creates customized designs to build electrical products and produce work package “kits.” The company specializes in engineering, designing and manufacturing turnkey high and medium voltage substations, distribution systems, switchyards and utility scale solar projects.
The company’s website shows it has more than 130 projects across 22 states, including the entire West Coast. Its Sacramento-area projects including three solar panel fields in Elk Grove and one in Galt, which were completed in 2011 and 2012. All four serve Sacramento Municipal Utility District. Construction Innovations also built several substations for SMUD and PG&E, completed between 2011 and 2020.
“We are actively pursuing multiple projects and finalizing contracts that are expected to commence in the upcoming weeks and months,” Bringuel said. “These new ventures hold the potential for retaining current team members and possibly recruiting new team members.”
Who might be laid off?
The layoffs will affect employees who work at Construction Innovations’ manufacturing facility, 8825 Elder Creek Road, and the company’s Mather office, 10630 Mather Blvd.
Of the total 165 employees that will be laid off, more than 52% are assembler positions. The company plans to lay off 18 machine operators, 16 team captains, three team leaders and seven testing technicians.
A total of 16 material handlers are also being let go. In addition to those expiring positions are three CAD specialists, two field coordinators, two material handler drivers and three project coordinators.
