Price Pfister Closing Office in Pacoima

Faucet maker Price Pfister plans to close its corporate office in Pacoima as part of a reorganization, officials said Thursday, which will result in a loss of about 120 local jobs.

Administrative services will be transferred to a new corporate center for Black & Decker Corp., the parent company of Price Pfister, in the south Orange County community of Lake Forest.

About 60 workers have accepted new jobs in Lake Forest and about 60 others will lose their jobs at Price Pfister’s office at 13500 Paxton St., said Ron Webb, vice president of human resources at the Irvine office of Black & Decker. About 350 manufacturing jobs at the Pacoima office will not be affected, he said.

The changes will take effect in December. As part of a reorganization within Black & Decker’s hardware and home improvement group, the company will also vacate its corporate offices in Irvine and its Kwikset Corp. subsidiary offices in Anaheim, Webb said.

The move further diminishes Price Pfister’s presence in Pacoima. Since 1996, the faucet manufacturer has laid off about 500 workers there as it shifted many of its operations to Mexico and shut down its faucet manufacturing foundry.

Los Angeles City Councilman Alex Padilla, who represents the area, is seeking companies that will move into the vacated offices and that will hire local workers, said his spokesman David Gershwin.

“The loss of these types of strong middle-class jobs is what really hurts the community,” Gershwin said.