Penguin Windows might lay off 156 workers at its Vancouver office – or it might not.
Karen Campbell, administrative assistant for the Washington Employment Security Department said Wednesday the company has laid off 160 workers in Mukilteo, Lynnwood and Lakewood, will lay off 50 more by March 14 and will lay off 156 workers in Vancouver sometime later.
But a news report by Northwest Cable News’ website, posted Tuesday, said Penguin is keeping its Vancouver operation open but closing its corporate office and distribution center in Mukilteo, another office in Lakewood and an office in Boston, Mass.
Northwest Cable News cited an unnamed Penguin executive as the source of its report. The news outlet’s report did not say how many employees will be affected.
A Penguin receptionist told The Columbian on Wednesday the company wasn’t releasing any information about the matter until tomorrow.
Dennis Birge, rapid response coordinator for the state Employment Security Department, said Wednesday he expects to issue a news release about the layoffs at Penguin later today.
“We’re still trying to determine the number of workers that will be impacted,” he said. “We need to get additional information from the company.”
Penguin is a residential window replacement company with operations in Washington, Oregon, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine, according to the company’s website.
In March 2010, the Mukilteo-based company reached a settlement with the Washington Attorney General’s Office over a complaint the state’s chief legal office made against it.
That complaint alleged Penguin misrepresented its products, making false claims about the energy savings customers would achieve and misleading consumers into thinking that the in-home appointments they set up with Penguin were something other than sales calls.
Penguin denied any wrongdoing as part of the settlement filed in King County Superior Court but agreed to restrictions on its marketing tactics, according to a news released issued by the Attorney General’s Office.
The company agreed to terms prohibiting it from making misrepresentations to gain entry into a home, failing to substantiate advertising claims, interfering with cancellation rights and continuing in-home sales presentations after a customer has clearly stated that he or she wants it to end.
The Attorney General’s Office agreed to suspend $25,000 in civil penalties as long as Penguin follows consumer protection laws in the future. The company paid $95,000 in attorneys’ fees and legal costs.
According to Penguin’s website, in August 2010 Qualified Remodeler Magazine listed the company as the sixth-largest remodeling company in the nation as ranked by revenue.
And Remodeling Magazine named Penguin to its Big 50 list in 2008, recognizing the company “as one of 50 companies in the nation who have set the standard for professionalism and integrity through smart marketing, exemplary business practices, unique design and extraordinary impact in the community and the industry at large,” according to Penguin’s website.
