Tacoma Is Losing Another Major Industrial Employer

Tacoma is about to lose another sizable industrial employer—and more than 100 local workers are losing their jobs with it.

Georgia-Pacific announced that it will permanently close its gypsum manufacturing plant at 1240 East Alexander Avenue on the Tacoma Tideflats. The company notified employees September 1 and expects normal production to end in approximately 45 days, with the property closing permanently near the end of 2026.

A notice filed with the Washington Employment Security Department says 120 positions will be eliminated, with most layoffs expected to take effect October 30. Georgia-Pacific’s own announcement places the number slightly higher, saying all 125 full-time employees will be affected.

Either way, the closure eliminates the entire workforce at a facility that has quietly produced building materials on Tacoma’s working waterfront for years.

The plant manufactures gypsum board and specialized construction products—including drywall, moisture-resistant panels, exterior sheathing and other materials used in residential and commercial buildings.

In a statement announcing the closure, Georgia-Pacific pointed to the sluggish housing market—particularly a sharp decline in the sale of existing homes.

Home turnover frequently leads new owners to remodel, while sellers may renovate before putting a property on the market. That repair-and-remodel market is a major source of demand for gypsum products.

Georgia-Pacific says existing-home turnover is now at a 30-year low and is showing no sign of meaningful improvement.

“This decision is not a reflection of the hard work and efforts of the Tacoma team,” the company said, adding that it expects to meet customer demand through its remaining production facilities.

The layoffs cover virtually every part of the Tacoma operation. According to reporting based on the company’s WARN filing, affected positions include production employees, loaders, forklift operators, electricians, maintenance workers, supervisors and managers.

Some hourly employees are represented by Teamsters Local 117. Just last year, the union profiled the Tacoma plant and its workers, describing a massive production facility where more than 100 Teamsters produced, inspected, loaded and shipped drywall to building-material dealers throughout the United States and Canada.

The closure therefore represents more than a corporate name disappearing from a directory. These are hands-on manufacturing and skilled-trade jobs—the type of work that has defined Tacoma’s Tideflats economy for generations.

Georgia-Pacific says affected employees will receive at least 60 days of pay and benefits in accordance with federal and state WARN requirements. It also says it will connect workers with local support agencies, job-placement resources and possible openings elsewhere within Georgia-Pacific or other Koch companies.

Most workers are expected to leave October 30, although some positions could end sooner or continue longer as the company winds down operations and closes the property.

The announcement is especially painful because Tacoma has been here before.

In 2023, WestRock closed its nearly century-old Tacoma paper mill, eliminating approximately 400 jobs. That shutdown removed one of the Tideflats’ most recognizable industrial operations and had ripple effects extending beyond its workforce—including the loss of a major customer for Tacoma Public Utilities.

Georgia-Pacific is smaller, but the latest closure raises a similar question: How many well-paying industrial jobs can Tacoma lose before the character of its working waterfront fundamentally changes?

The Tideflats remain home to the Port of Tacoma, rail yards, warehouses, manufacturers and maritime businesses. Yet industrial properties require enormous investments, and companies increasingly evaluate them as pieces of a much larger national—or global—production network.

Georgia-Pacific says it can supply customers from other facilities. For the 120 to 125 people who worked at the Tacoma plant, however, shifting production elsewhere does not replace the job disappearing here.

The company has not announced what will happen to the Alexander Avenue property after the plant closes.

That unanswered question—and whether another industrial employer could eventually use the site—will determine whether this is simply the end of one Tacoma factory or another step in the gradual erosion of the city’s industrial employment base.