California transplant Kelly-Moore lays off 700, halts D-FW paint plant operations
Published: Tue, 01/09/24
California transplant Kelly-Moore lays off 700, halts D-FW paint plant operations
The company founded in 1946 says it’s seeking new investors after being weighed down for three decades with asbestos claims.
Kelly-Moore operates 157 retail paint stores and has a manufacturing plant in Hurst.(Contributed / Kelly-Moore )
By Paul O'Donnell and Irving Mejia-Hilario
The Dallas Morning News
Kelly-Moore Paints is laying off about 700 workers and temporarily halting operations at its Hurst manufacturing plant only months after the company relocated its headquarters from California to Dallas-Fort Worth.
The Irving-based firm said Monday that it’s seeking new investors for the company that sells its products in 157 stores across Texas, California, Nevada and Oklahoma. It will continue to fill paint orders from inventory.
Most Kelly-Moore retail stores will remain open, the company said.
“I am saddened by having to furlough valued employees, and our sympathy goes out to each of them during what we hope will be a temporary, short-term absence while we seek new capital,” Kelly-Moore CEO Charles Gassenheimer said in a statement. “This was an important and necessary step as we deal with pressing financial issues and try to preserve all our options.”