Lighting firm to close area facility, lay off 109

An international lighting company is closing its San Marcos manufacturing facility and laying off 109 employees starting in May.

Signify North America Corp. notified the Texas Workforce Commission and San Marcos Mayor Jane Hughson it will cease operations at the facility and begin layoffs on or after May 16.

The company reportedly is shifting production from San Marcos to plants in Mexico and Pennsylvania.

Signify submitted the notifications this month under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, a federal law that requires employers to provide 60day notice to state governments in the event of major layoffs.

Formerly known as Philips Lighting N.V., Signify produces lighting products including light bulbs and LED equipment under several brand names. The company was founded in the Netherlands and had sales of $7.3 million in 2023, according to its website.

According to a 2020 video from the Greater San Marcos Partnership, Signify then had more than 120 employees at the San Marcos factory, producing lighting for roads, parks and garages.

In February, industry publication Inside Lighting reported the company would shift production from the San Marcos plant to locations in Camargo, Mexico, and Littlestown, Pa.

Signify “plans to permanently cease all operations at the facility, and the company will be eliminating all positions at the facility,” its notification letter said. The positions include 69 production workers, 12 engineering jobs, 10 in supply chain management and nine in warehouse operations, according to the letter.

“However, some employees may not suffer job losses as a result of anticipated transfers to other company facilities,” it told the workforce commission.

The layoffs are expected to occur in three phases while Signify decommissions the facility, starting May 16, Aug. 15 and Nov. 7, according to its WARN letter.