Klamath County, Oregon – Jeld-Wen just informed state authorities that by year’s end it will cease operations at its Chiloquin door-and-window plant, so putting all 128 people out of work. Beginning June 30, the manufacturing plant in the little Klamath County city that is producing interior, steel, fiberglass and custom doors for over thirty years will start laying off employees; the process will end in December.
Management claims the labor done in Chiloquin will not vanish; rather, it will move to other Jeld-Wen locations throughout North America. For many on the production floor, however, the announcement was somewhat disappointing. Departing employees will receive a competitive severance package and have access to job-placement assistance, but for many, those measures offer cold comfort as they face an uncertain local job market
Jeld-Wen has strong ties to Oregon. Originally based near Klamath Falls, the firm quietly moved its primary offices to North Carolina in 2015 following a Canadian private-equity company purchase. That action came after a major financial crisis during the Great Recession, when falling demand for home-building pushed the company to restructure.
But today’s challenges are strikingly familiar: last year, Jeld-Wen saw sales decrease by 12 percent to $3.8 billion and posted a loss of $189 million. Executives are struggling with an evolving economy and changing consumer preferences toward lower-end goods.
This Chiloquin shutdown follows numerous others. Jeld-Wen closed a plant in Atlanta in 2023; later, it indicated intentions to close operations in Alabama and Denmark, while “right-sizing” output at other locations. The corporation had over 16,000 employees worldwide by the end of 2024, around 10,000 of them were located in North America. Its stock price, however, reveals a different story: JELD shares dropped from almost $20 a share a year ago to $5.58 at Thursday’s market closing. Investors will be monitoring Tuesday’s quarterly earnings release for signs of a comeback.
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The announcement comes amid a larger drop in Oregon’s industrial sector, which has lost over 13,000 jobs over the last three years. At 6.3 percent, Klamath County’s unemployment rate is more than two points higher than the state average. Local officials are concerned that losing another 128 jobs would further damage an already stressed economy.
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As Jeld-Wen dismantles its Chiloquin operations, community advocates are urging swift action from regional workforce programs and economic development agencies. Former manufacturing workers will depend for now on the company’s severance and placement services—and on their own tenacity—to negotiate what is next.
