Amarr Garage Door Group, a major Lawrence employer, is laying off about 100 employees from its work force as the U.S. housing market continues to struggle.

Major Lawrence employer Amarr Garage Door Group is laying off about 100 employees at its local production center as the U.S. housing market continues to struggle.

The company confirmed the layoffs Thursday morning after it began notifying employees on Wednesday evening.

“The decision to eliminate jobs is never taken lightly at Amarr, but the work force adjustments will allow us to remain competitive and adjust to the current sales level,” said Kirsten Krug, Amarr’s Director of People in Lawrence. “The business is in good shape and we still have a large and important work force in Lawrence.”

Amarr is one of the city’s 10 largest employers, with about 600 employees prior to the layoffs. The Lawrence plant is a major one for the company, producing more than 90 percent of the company’s garage doors.

Krug said about 20 of the affected positions were seasonal positions that typically have been cut during the winter months. The additional 80 positions were not seasonal in nature and included employees in manufacturing, administration and management divisions.

Some employees said the layoffs came as a surprise, although there had been signs of a slowdown in business. Employees said they were nervous about finding new jobs, especially in the Lawrence area.

“It is going to be hard, especially with the economy the way it is and just the time of year,” said Rushelle Turner, who was a customer service representative at the company. “But I’ll do whatever I need to do because I need to pay my bills.”

Krug said the layoffs stemmed largely from the downturn in the U.S. housing sector, which has seen home sales and housing starts dip to lows not seen in decades. Krug declined to give specifics on how much sales have dipped for Amarr. But Krug said the company believes these layoffs will be enough to get the company through the downturn without the need for more job losses in the future.

Beth Johnson, vice president of economic development for the Lawrence Chamber of Commerce, said she was confident the company was still firmly committed to its Lawrence location.

“The news is obviously not good, but you have to look at what they do,” Johnson said. “They make garage doors, and every industry that is tied to the housing industry is probably going to take a hit. We’re confident they’ll rebound.”

The company previously had been a growth story in the Lawrence business scene. Since the late 1990s, the company’s Lawrence operations had grown from about 340 employees to 600 before the layoffs. The company undertook an expansion in 1998, which was aided by a property tax abatement granted by the city. Despite the layoffs, the company still employs about 200 people more than what is required as part of the terms of the abatement. The City Commission also agreed to another abatement for the company in 2003, but Amarr has not been receiving that tax break because the company has not yet submitted the necessary paperwork to the state.

Krug said Amarr — which has had a plant in Lawrence since 1989 — is offering assistance to the workers who lost their jobs, but she declined to comment on the specifics of the severance package.