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MINNEAPOLIMEDIA NEWS | Lincoln Industries to Permanently Close Pine Island Plant, Eliminating About 55 Minnesota Jobs
Most employees are expected to lose their jobs October 29, while a smaller group will remain through the shutdown process before the southeastern Minnesota facility closes permanently
PINE ISLAND, MN (September 11, 2026). Lincoln Industries plans to permanently close its manufacturing facility in Pine Island, eliminating approximately 55 jobs in a two-stage shutdown that will begin in late October and continue into spring 2027, according to a federal layoff notice received by Minnesota's State Rapid Response Team.
The company notified the state under the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, commonly known as WARN, that it will permanently close the facility at 67 Fifth St. NE, Pine Island, MN 55963.
Most affected employees are expected to separate from the company on October 29, 2026.
A smaller number of employees involved in shutting down the plant are expected to remain beyond that date, with the final phase of layoffs occurring on or before April 1, 2027.
The notice describes the closure and resulting layoffs as permanent.
The approximately 55 affected workers represent a range of manufacturing, engineering, maintenance, warehouse, management and production occupations, indicating that the closure extends across the Pine Island operation rather than being confined to a single production line or department.
Positions identified in the state's notice include welders, robotic welders, machine operators, platers, polishers, tube-bender operators, material handlers, maintenance technicians and production planners.
Engineering and management jobs are also affected.
The listed positions include a plant manager, engineering manager, manufacturing engineers, a manufacturing and integration engineer, production planners and buyers, process specialists, team leads and a senior tool maker.
Warehouse and fabrication positions are also among those affected.
The breadth of the occupational list means the shutdown will eliminate both production-floor jobs and professional and technical positions associated with operating the plant.
According to the WARN information released by Minnesota's State Rapid Response Team, employees at the Pine Island facility are not represented by a union.
The notice also states that employees have no bumping rights, a labor practice under which workers with greater seniority may sometimes displace employees with less seniority in other positions during a reduction in workforce.
The information released by the state does not identify a reason for Lincoln Industries' decision to permanently close the Pine Island facility.
It also does not provide information about severance benefits, whether any employees will be offered positions at other company locations, or the economic value of the operation being closed.
Those questions remain separate from what the WARN notice itself establishes.
The closure will have consequences beyond the approximately 55 employees directly affected.
Pine Island is a southeastern Minnesota community located between Rochester and the Twin Cities, and the elimination of dozens of manufacturing jobs in a smaller community can affect household income, local businesses and the regional labor market.
The extended shutdown schedule also creates two distinct groups of affected employees.
Most workers will have to make their employment transition beginning in late October, while those retained to assist with shutdown activities could remain employed for several additional months before their positions are also eliminated.
Minnesota's State Rapid Response Team becomes involved when qualifying employers notify the state about significant layoffs and plant closings.
The team operates through the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development's Dislocated Worker Program and works to connect affected employees with employment and retraining assistance.
The federal WARN Act generally requires qualifying employers to provide advance notification of certain plant closings and mass layoffs so workers, communities and government agencies have time to prepare for substantial employment losses.
In the Lincoln Industries case, the advance notice provides state workforce officials several weeks before the first major round of layoffs scheduled for October 29.
State Rapid Response Team Senior Specialist Mee Yang will lead the state's assessment of the Lincoln Industries closure.
Affected workers and others with questions about the mass layoff can contact the Minnesota State Rapid Response Team at 651-259-7537 or deed.dw@state.mn.us.
The notice does not indicate that the April 2027 date represents another independent layoff. Rather, the closure is being implemented in phases, with employees needed for plant-shutdown work remaining after most of their colleagues have departed.
For approximately 55 workers in Pine Island, however, the ultimate outcome is the same: the jobs covered by the notice are being eliminated as Lincoln Industries permanently closes the
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