Lafarge North America announced that it was idling manufacturing operations at its gypsum drywall plant in Wilmington, Del., as part of its ongoing strategy to service customers from predominantly newer, more efficient plants in the eastern U.S.

Built in 1959, the Wilmington plant employs 100 people. In 2001, the plant shipped about 325 million sq ft of product, and the company plans to service those volumes from its plants in New York, New Jersey, Kentucky, and Florida. The company anticipates no service interruption to customers during the change.

Lafarge North America will take a one-time pre-tax charge of about $25 million in the fourth quarter of this year for costs related to the idling as well as severance payments to employees.