New Berlin-based Spirit Manufacturing Inc. will close its facility at 5340 S. Emmer Drive and lay off 60 employees, according to a notice filed with the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development.
Spirit was founded in 1997 and is a contract manufacturer of machined parts for medium and large original equipment manufacturers. The company serves a number of industries including transportation, automotive, agriculture, construction, heavy equipment and power generation.
The company cited “changing business circumstances” as the reason for the shutdown. Spirit is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Waterford-based HyPro, Inc. After a major customer announced it would move work overseas, the parent company opted to consolidate operations at HyPro, but many Spirit employees are being offered positions at HyPro’s Waterford facility, said Steve Waters, HyPro chief financial officer.
Spirit anticipates the layoffs occurring around Nov. 18, although some employees may stay on to wrap up operations.
The Waukesha-Ozaukee-Washington Workforce Development Area Rapid Response Team will offer rapid response services to the affected workers.
The layoffs will bring the total number of workers affected by mass layoffs and closings in 2016 to 4,683. There were 9,630 affected workers in all of 2015.
