Wisconsin metal plant employees sue owners over sudden closure, layoffs

Dozens of former employees are now suing their former bosses after they were all abruptly laid off from a metal fabrication plant in western Wisconsin. 

David Olsen is one of those employees. He said that ownership at Northern Metal Fab, Inc. called a meeting early on Monday, March 30, where they were told to pack their bags.

"There absolutely was no warning that the company was potentially going belly up, that was a shock to everyone," Olsen said. 

Since 1987, Northern Metal Fab, Inc. took on large metal welding and crafting projects that Olsen said others in the area simply couldn't handle. There had been highs and lows over the years, he said, but he felt blindsided when his bosses told him and his colleagues that the plant was no longer financially viable. 

That was the first surprise. The second would come days later when Olsen and others said that they did not receive their final two weeks of pay; they claim that Northern Metal Fab, Inc. also failed to provide them the financial equivalent for their unused vacation days. Most alarming, Olsen said, was that they learned their insurance was canceled as of late February despite the employees still paying their premiums. 

"We have one employee where his family actually delivered a baby in March. Come to find out now they had no insurance to cover that," Olsen said. "Fifteen, 20, 25 years people have been here and they've got nothing to show for it here at the end. This is how they're treated." 

President and co-owner John Felix declined to speak to WCCO, directing us instead to attorney Joseph Skokan, who provided a statement. Co-owner Jeffrey Cabson was not immediately available on Sunday. 

"After a thorough review of business operations and the current economic climate, the owners of Northern Metal Fab. Inc. determined the business was no longer financially viable. Despite their best efforts to find alternatives, they made the difficult decision to cease operations and seek relief through a chapter 7 bankruptcy. The case is expected to be commenced early next week, Northern Metal Fab. Inc. hopes that the liquidation of its business assets will result in a quick and meaningful distribution to its employees and other creditors," Skokan said in an email. 

The class action lawsuit against Northern Metal Fab, Inc. accuses ownership of violating both state and federal laws surrounding failure to pay owed wages and the lack of warning ahead of the layoffs. The state of Wisconsin confirmed that an investigator is now looking into the latter issue; typically, a company with more than 50 employees like Northern Metal Fab, Inc. is meant to provide 60 days' notice before a plant closure.

As of Sunday evening, there was no indication on the company's website that it had shut down. In fact, there were still multiple job openings listed with links to apply. 

Jody Olsen, David Olsen's wife, used to work at the facility in Human Resources. She left of her own accord in 2025 and is now working to support her husband and try to help his laid-off colleagues find work. 

"A failure is one thing, to then take advantage of employees is another," she said.