Officials of American Standard Americas on Dec. 5 issued a formal notice to the GMP Local 7-A, its employees and local government officials that it anticipates that its plant in Tiffin, Ohio, will close, eliminating 165 hourly production jobs and 35 salary jobs.

They cited external factors for closing the plant, including the collapse of the new home construction market, excess housing inventory, the decline in consumer spending for home remodeling, negative sales trends at major customers and problems in the financial markets.

Exactly when the closing will occur is not clear, but the company anticipates the plant will cease operations within 60 days of the notice.