POCATELLO — A local plant that manufactures housing for temporary laborers will soon close its doors, but local officials advise there’s no shortage of options for the employees who will be displaced.

ATCO Structures & Logistics, located in the former Naval Ordnance Plant at 3770 Pole Line Road, will close within the next few weeks, affecting 150 workers, the company recently announced.

Many of those workers have already found jobs locally, said John Regetz, executive director of Bannock Development Corporation.

“Our housing study team has been reaching out to the housing construction (sector) and working with the Idaho Department of Labor to pick up the workforce from this facility,” Regetz said.

Regetz said the plant employs members from across the trades, including electricians, plumbers, welders and framers. With the local housing market being exceptionally tight at the moment, Regetz said the plant’s closure represents an opportunity for local contractors to add to their staffs and expedite projects.

“We have had such a strain on the housing construction workforce,” Regetz said.

The local plant opened in 2012. Regetz said the COVID-19 crisis has hurt the company, which is also closing a Texas location. Regetz noted the plant has been a major supplier of housing for oil and gas field workers, and COVID-19 has reduced fuel consumption and hurt demand for energy. Regetz said the company has also developed a modular hotel business.

“Now with COVID-19 there’s a lot of hotel projects on hold for a year,” Regetz said.

Pocatello Mayor Brian Blad said the Idaho Department of Labor held a virtual job fair for the workers on June 4.

“Any time a business closes it’s not a good thing for your community, but the employees are in a market that is a hot market right now,” Blad said. “There are building contractors and subs all looking for help right now.”

Blad said ATCO had been leasing the facility. Local ATCO officials referred comments to a corporate human resources official in Texas. She could not be reached for comment.