Cornerstone Building Brands plans to permanently eliminate more than 60 jobs at its Kearney, Mo., operation in October, adding another pocket of factory layoffs to an increasingly difficult manufacturing environment as President Donald Trump and Republicans head toward the November elections.
The company disclosed the planned reduction in a notice filed with the Missouri Department of Higher Education and Workforce Development. Employees at the facility at 303 W. Major Street are expected to lose their jobs on or around Oct. 19, putting the layoffs just weeks before voters go to the polls.
The cuts encompass a range of factory positions, including technicians, forklift operators and specialized machine operators. The affected employees aren't represented by a union, and the company said the layoffs are permanent and that workers won't have bumping rights that could allow them to displace less-senior employees.
Cornerstone Building Brands produces exterior building products for residential and commercial construction, tying the Kearney operation to an industry that has been squeezed by high borrowing costs and weaker construction demand. Trade-policy uncertainty and changing material costs have added another complication for manufacturers trying to make long-term investment decisions.
The Missouri layoffs arrive as Trump's economic policies face heightened scrutiny over the performance of a sector that has been central to his political message. Trump has long presented tariffs and efforts to bring production back to the U.S. as tools for rebuilding American manufacturing and strengthening blue-collar communities.
The Lincoln Project, a political group opposed to Trump, has sought to make the recent manufacturing downturn part of the election debate. "Since his re-election, we have lost 75,000 manufacturing jobs and $60 billion in annual factory construction," the organization posted on X. The group also said 625,000 manufacturing jobs were created during the previous administration.
Labor Department payroll figures have shown a decline in manufacturing employment, while the slowdown in factory construction has raised questions about whether the surge in industrial investment seen in previous years can be sustained. The numbers are particularly politically sensitive in communities where factory employment remains an important source of relatively well-paying jobs for workers without four-year college degrees.
Economists have pointed to uncertainty surrounding tariffs as one factor complicating corporate investment. Robert Shapiro, who served as undersecretary of commerce for economic affairs during the Clinton administration, told AlterNet in July that rapidly changing trade policy makes it harder for companies to determine whether major projects will generate adequate returns.
"It is about uncertainty," Shapiro said.
Manufacturers considering a new plant typically have to estimate years of demand as well as future labor, equipment and raw-material costs. When tariffs or other policy changes make those expenses difficult to forecast, companies can postpone construction, reduce planned capacity or abandon projects altogether.
That uncertainty can be magnified in the building-products industry. Higher borrowing costs can restrain home construction and commercial development, reducing demand for products such as siding, windows, roofing materials and other exterior components produced by companies including Cornerstone Building Brands.
