A company whose name is synonymous with a luxury soak is planning to shut down a Georgia manufacturing facility.
California-based Jacuzzi will shutter its plant in Valdosta, resulting in job cuts affecting more than 100 workers, according to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification filed with the state.
The facility primarily makes bathtubs, which a company spokesperson said have fallen out of favor with consumers, leading Jacuzzi to consolidate its manufacturing operations.
“This closure is the direct result of a long-term shift in consumer demand away from traditional bathtubs and toward a growing preference for shower-focused solutions,” the spokesperson said in a statement to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
“Because of the clear change in what consumers are buying today, we are focused on production at another plant in the U.S. that is better aligned with producing products to match current market needs,” the spokesperson added.
The Jacuzzi family, who came to the U.S. from Italy in the early 1900s, invented a submersible hydrotherapy pump and ultimately became a well-known name for jetted bathtubs and hot tubs, according to company information.
The spokesperson said the Valdosta facility has been in operation since 2008. But the location had served as the home of BathCraft, founded in 1986 by South Georgia entrepreneurs and later acquired by Jacuzzi, according to a 2007 article from The Valdosta Daily Times.
That same year, Georgia officials announced an expansion of the facility, saying it would produce luxury and designer Jacuzzi lines.
“We recognize the impact this decision has on the employees and Valdosta community, and we are fully dedicated to supporting our affected team members through this transition,” the company spokesperson said.
Another consumer goods factory recently announced it would shut down in Georgia.
Bridgestone Golf said earlier this month it will close its Covington manufacturing and testing facility effective June 30, where it has produced golf balls for more than three decades.
Georgia has seen a slight decline in manufacturing employment as overall job growth has stagnated. Over the 12 months to March, the state lost 1,400 net manufacturing jobs, the most recent data available from the Georgia Department of Labor.
But Jerry Parrish, chief economist for the Metro Atlanta Chamber, said in a Wednesday interview that the state is seeing “substantial” manufacturing growth with several new investments.
Among the recent deals, in March, Belgium-based UCB Inc. said it will open a $2 billion medical science manufacturing facility in Gwinnett County, which is expected to create more than 330 jobs.
“Georgia is a great place for manufacturing,” Parrish said. “We’ve done a great job recruiting those companies here, and you’ll see it in the job numbers coming up over the next few years.”
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