California layoffs / Building Materials Manufacturing LLC
Building Materials Manufacturing LLC California Layoffs 2026: What Employees Should Know
Building Materials Manufacturing LLC has a layoff notice on file with California's Employment Development Department (EDD) under the state's Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act, covering 69 jobs in Kern County. That is what the state has published since July 2025. If you were one of them, here is what the filing says, how much notice the law asks for, and what to look at before you sign anything.
What the filing says
These are the details as Building Materials Manufacturing LLC reported them to the state. The EDD publishes every notice, and this page reflects the data as of Jul 31, 2026.
| Location | County | Notice given | Jobs end | Workers | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shafter | Kern County | Nov 20, 2025 | Jan 24, 2026 | 69 | Closure Permanent |
How much notice the law requires
California's WARN Act requires 60 days of advance written notice before a covered mass layoff. What makes the California version unusual is how few ways out it gives an employer. The only statutory exception is a physical calamity or an act of war. Federal law has three exceptions, including one for unforeseeable business circumstances, and the California Legislature deliberately declined to copy them.
What this filing shows
This filing shows 65 calendar days between the notice date and the date the jobs end. That is at or above the 60 days the statute describes.
This is a fact drawn from the public filing, not a conclusion that anyone broke the law. The date an employer records is not always the date workers were told, employers of different sizes are covered differently, and exceptions can apply. Whether it means anything in your case is exactly what a free consultation sorts out.
Building Materials Manufacturing severance: what to check before you sign
A severance offer is not the same thing as the notice pay the WARN Act describes, and an employer cannot use one to satisfy the other. A release may also give up more than you expect, and an arbitration agreement you signed at hire can affect where a dispute is heard. Read our full guide to the California WARN Act before you decide, and consider having the paperwork looked at.
Two things worth doing this week either way. File for unemployment now, because WARN money does not reduce it. And keep every document, including the notice itself and anything showing when it arrived.
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Questions people are asking
What is the Building Materials Manufacturing severance package?
The WARN notice Building Materials Manufacturing filed with the state does not list severance terms, and we do not publish any employer's package. A WARN notice reports how many jobs end, where, and when. Severance is a separate contract offered at the employer's discretion. California law does not require it, and an employer cannot use contractual severance to satisfy what the WARN Act requires, so being offered a package does not by itself answer whether notice pay is also owed. If you have an offer in hand, the terms in front of you are the ones that matter, and they are worth reading closely before the deadline on them runs.
Am I owed severance from Building Materials Manufacturing LLC?
California law does not require severance on its own, and a severance offer is a separate thing from WARN pay. An employer cannot use contractual severance to satisfy its WARN obligation, so being offered a package does not answer whether notice pay is also owed.
Does taking the severance reduce what I could recover?
It depends on why the money is being paid. Severance the employer was already obligated to provide — under a contract, a policy, a benefit plan, or a union agreement — cannot be set against what the WARN Act requires. A payment that is genuinely voluntary and unconditional, one the employer had no legal obligation to make, can reduce that liability. Wages for work you actually performed during the notice period are not voluntary severance at all. Which category an offer falls into is a question about the document in front of you, not about the layoff, and it is one of the better reasons to have the paperwork read before the deadline on it runs.
Does it matter that this was filed as a closure?
It can. California's WARN Act covers a closure, a mass layoff, and a relocation, and the thresholds are not identical. A closure means the site itself is shutting down rather than shedding part of its staff, which can change who is counted and whether the statute applies at all. It also tends to mean there is no role to be recalled to.
What if I did not get 60 days of notice?
California's WARN Act requires 60 days of advance written notice before a covered mass layoff, and its only statutory exception is a physical calamity or an act of war. That is far narrower than federal law, which has three exceptions. This filing shows 65 days, at or above the 60 the statute describes. Notice can still fall short in practice if it did not reach you when the filing says, or if it lacked what the statute requires it to contain.
Can I still collect unemployment?
Yes. Under Labor Code section 1407, WARN-related payments are not treated as wages for unemployment purposes, so they cannot be used to deny or reduce your benefits in California. You do not have to wait for your last day — the filings here run through Jan 24, 2026 — and filing early is generally better than filing late.
Does taking a new job hurt my claim?
No. Wages you earn at a new job during the notice period do not reduce what a former employer may owe under WARN. You do not need to delay a job search to protect a claim.
How long do I have to act?
Generally three years. The federal WARN Act sets no limitations period of its own, so courts borrow the closest state deadline, which in California is the three-year period for a liability created by statute. The clock starts when you suffer an employment loss, not when the notice went out. Measured from the last day of work in this filing, Jan 24, 2026, three years runs to about Jan 24, 2029. If this was a layoff rather than an outright termination, the loss may not count until the layoff has lasted more than six months, which can start the clock later still. Treat all of it as an outer edge rather than a plan. Other claims arising from the same layoff run much shorter, and a severance offer usually carries its own deadline measured in days.
What has been reported
Press coverage of this layoff, summarized and attributed. This is reporting rather than the filing itself, and we did not independently verify it.
Building Materials Manufacturing LLC — better known as roofing giant GAF — notified Kern County officials that it will permanently close its Shafter Glass Mat Facility at 6505 Zerker Road, with layoffs of all 69 employees set to begin around January 24, 2026, The Bakersfield Californian reported.
GAF told the paper it decided to consolidate glass mat production — a fiberglass substrate used as the base for asphalt shingles — at plants where it can manufacture most efficiently, and said it will "continue to serve customers without interruption from our other facilities."
The company's separate shingle plant in Shafter is not part of the closure; GAF said it "will remain an active employer and neighbor" there, according to The Bakersfield Californian.
Details worth knowing
- There is no union representing employees at the facility, and all employees have been notified, KBAK reported from the company's release.
- The WARN letter, signed by Special Product and Services division president Justin Dunlap, said the company will work with affected employees to provide information on available resources, including state and local services, and GAF said it is "committed to assisting those impacted through this transition," per The Bakersfield Californian.
Sources: The Bakersfield Californian (via Yahoo News) (opens in a new tab)KBAK/KBFX Bakersfield (opens in a new tab)
What the numbers show
- The 69 affected positions are in Shafter.
- The notice is filed as a closure rather than a partial reduction, meaning the site itself is shutting down.
- The 69 workers leaving Building Materials Manufacturing LLC re-enter a job market where Kern County unemployment stood at 8.8% in June 2026, above the 5.2% statewide rate (Bureau of Labor Statistics, not seasonally adjusted).
These are counts and comparisons drawn from the published filings, not findings about Building Materials Manufacturing.
Free job-search help near Shafter
America's Job Center of California is the state's no-cost network for laid-off workers: help filing and keeping unemployment benefits, federally funded retraining, and résumé and interview coaching. Your WARN notice may name one; this is the closest to the site in this filing.
America`s Job Center of California-Shafter (opens in a new tab)
115 Central Valley Highway, Shafter, CA 93263 · 661-746-8300
Affiliate center (partial services) · about 6.7 miles from the Shafter site
Locations and hours change — confirm before visiting, or find another center with the EDD's center locator (opens in a new tab). Directory: U.S. Department of Labor, Jul 31, 2026; distances are straight-line from the address in the filing.
Other layoffs filed in Kern County around the same time
21 employers have WARN notices on file in Kern County, covering 1,795 workers. These filed within about a quarter of this one.
- Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream914 workers
- Randstad Inhouse Services, LLC324 workers
- V2X62 workers
- Terzo Enterprises Incorporated58 workers
- Revol Greens CA, LLC42 workers
Listed because they appear in the same county in the same public data. No connection between these employers is implied.
Key points
Each point is explained and sourced above · Verified July 31, 2026
Key points from Building Materials Manufacturing LLC California layoffs 2026, verified as of July 31, 2026
Workers affected · Kern County · published since July 2025
69
CA EDD WARN report
Notices filed · California · published July 2025 to July 2026
1
CA EDD WARN report
Jobs end · As filed
Jan 24, 2026
CA EDD WARN report
Days between notice and last day · Arithmetic on two published dates
65 calendar days
CA EDD WARN report
Kern County unemployment rate · vs 5.2% statewide, not seasonally adjusted
8.8% (June 2026)
BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics
Notice California law describes · California
60 days before a covered mass layoff
Lab. Code § 1401
Available exceptions · California
Physical calamity or act of war only
Lab. Code § 1401
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