After 50 year cleaning uniforms for Milwaukee and Chicago, Goodwill Industries' laundry division closes

For 50 years Goodwill Industries’ commercial laundry division has cleaned, folded and washed linen for a myriad of clients, including for sailors at Naval Station Great Lakes, the Navy’s largest training installation, in northern Illinois.

That will end this August.

Goodwill Manufacturing, the laundry arm of Goodwill Industries of Southeastern Wisconsin and Metropolitan Chicago, will permanently close its laundry service located at 6055 N. 91st St.

The closure will not affect other services, including its retail outlet, home-delivered meals program and its day service program offered at the far northwest side facility, which employs nearly 300 people.

The closure will lay off 136 employees from the commercial laundry and linen services, one of the largest laundry facilities operated by Goodwill in Wisconsin. Annually, the facility processed over 13 million pounds of laundry for healthcare providers, the military, and clinics throughout Wisconsin and northern Illinois.

But that was not enough to keep the doors open. Goodwill’s commercial laundry and linen service has been losing money every year for the last six years.  Goodwill Manufacturing ran a deficit of $3.2 million in 2017 mushrooming to $28 million in 2022, the most recent year for which numbers are available, according to company tax filings.

Just in 2022, Goodwill Manufacturing generated more than $3 million in revenue but then spent $7 million, creating a net loss of more than $4 million for the year. It was the sixth consecutive year the nonprofit lost millions of dollars.

The last year Goodwill Manufacturing turned a profit was in 2016 when revenue topped $5.5 million.

Goodwill officials point to market changes, including competition, customers, market dynamics, and operational costs. The nonprofit known for its employment training services and retail stores looked at every option before closing the facility.

“We take these decisions very seriously,” said Anita Guerrero, vice president of corporate communications and brand management. “I think the assessment of the profitability and healthy margins is essentially what got us to that point.”

Here’s what we know:

As business winds down Goodwill still committed to employees and customers

Goodwill is one of the leading providers of educational and work-related services to lift people out of poverty. Last year Goodwill supported more than 50,000 people across Wisconsin and Illinois through employment programs and services.

Employees affected by the layoff will now be using those same services. Goodwill, Guerrero said, remains committed to those affected by the closure.

Impacted employees will have access to free in-person and virtual employment services, including workshops, skill training, resume writing, job search, and application assistance. Guerrero noted some employees could be placed with other Goodwill locations.

“We have already started providing supportive services and guidance for impacted employees,” Guerrero said.

Affected employees will have access to Goodwill Talent Bridge, a full-service staffing and recruiting agency. The program helps place job seekers into entry-level jobs as well as professional positions. Also, employees can receive assistance through Goodwill’s Employment Empowerment Network. This program helps with emergency housing, rental and utility assistance, and childcare, which Guerrero noted are barriers to employment.

“We are committed to these 136 employees to make sure that they have placement by the time the operation closes,” Guerrero said.

Guerrero would not disclose the number of customers affected by the closure. But she said the laundry service had several long-term customers across greater Milwaukee and Chicago.

Like any business, she noted, the number of customers fluctuated over the years. The agency is working with those customers to connect them to new providers and ensure a smooth transition as the laundry division winds down.

Even though laundry clients fluctuated over time, Guerrero said that did not impact the amount of laundry processed. Last year, the laundry service processed more than 10 million pounds of linen, a 10.6% increase over 2022, she said.

Job opportunities for disabilities and hard-to-employ individuals

The laundry services provided job training and employment opportunities for people with disabilities and for those facing barriers to employment. When Goodwill started processing laundry for the Great Lakes naval base, Guerrero said leaders saw it as an opportunity to provide work experience for people with disability and “drive revenue for our organization.”

Goodwill partnered with AbilityOne which provided employees for the laundry division. AbilityOne provides quality employment opportunities for the blind or individuals with disabilities. Partnering with AbilityOne “funded our ability to run that operation and be able to provide employment opportunities,” Guerrero said.

The goal was to give people with disabilities an opportunity to be part of the workforce, Guerrero said.

“At the time that when we started this business, we saw a great need for people with disabilities to be able to enter the workforce,” she said.

Guerrero declined to say how many persons with disability are employed with the laundry division or would be affected by the layoffs. She noted case managers with AbilityOne will help them through this process, but Goodwill’s employment services will also be available to them.

Guerrero said she is confident those employed at the laundry service through AbilityOne gained the work experience needed to “help them in their next employment opportunity.”

From navy base to servicing laundry for other healthcare industries

Goodwill began operating its commercial laundry service in 1974. Since then, Goodwill expanded its customer base to include hospitals, clinics and nursing homes throughout southeastern Wisconsin and northern Illinois.

Though Goodwill will no longer provide laundry service for the Great Lake naval base, it will continueother services including food service, administrative and logistics services, such as mail delivery, and uniform issuance for the sailors and recruits at the naval base.

“We believe with closing this (laundry) business, we can reinvest back into our other business to maintain and grow the impact for our mission in the communities that we serve,” Guerrero said.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: After 50 year cleaning uniforms for Milwaukee and Chicago, Goodwill Industries' laundry division closes