Harbinger Production, a modular homebuilder that has built large apartment buildings around the Bay Area, is at a crossroads. Vallejo’s leadership is confident it can survive and build thousands of units. But funding problems and production shortfalls meant Harbinger had to threaten 290 employees with layoffs.
The company filed a warning notice with California officials on February 12, citing a “lack of new business and loss of capital funds” as reasons for possible layoffs. The document is just a warning — companies are required by law to tell employees in advance if they might be hit by mass layoffs — but it’s a dire sign for companies. Harbinger’s CEO, management team and more than 200 production workers were listed for possible layoffs.
Harbinger told SFGATE through external spokesperson Phoebe Schmidt that the warning was filed because “there may be short-term gaps in our production lines,” stressing that the company is “in the process of contract negotiations for new jobs and pursuing new business opportunities.”
The company, formerly known as Factory_OS, builds residential segments at its massive Mare Island factory and then assembles them on site — a premise that has made waves in housing-starved California over the past decade, with mixed results. To date, Harbinger has built and shipped more than 4,000 units, and its long-term reserve has 40 projects totaling more than 3,500 units, the company said. Contract design work has been completed on some of these projects.
“We are working hard to finalize project commitments to avoid production suspensions,” the company said on Thursday, adding that it “does not intend to shut down”.
Another statement said: “We have dealt with similar challenges in the past and have emerged stronger for our efforts.” In fact, the company is hardly unproven. Harbinger made headlines in 2017 for a proposed deal to build 300 units of employee housing for Google, and has since raised tens of millions of dollars in venture capital and completed projects in Oakland, San Francisco, Emeryville and elsewhere.
However, given the scope of the WARN file, workers are understandably concerned. Harbinger did not respond to SFGATE’s questions about the company’s two recent lawsuits. A former employee accused Harbinger in December of violating multiple labor laws, including those related to overtime pay, rest periods and fees. A separate filing in January by manufacturing giant Jabil accused Harbinger of owing $6.5 million, mostly for unpaid construction materials.