California-based steel foundry Pacific Steel Casting Co. filed for bankruptcy this week, attributing the move to the laying off of nearly 200 undocumented workers--a third of its workforce--in late 2011.
The company, which manufactures steel parts for heavy-duty trucks and construction equipment, filed for Chapter 11 protection in US Bankruptcy Court in Oakland on Monday as its executives look for buyers.
Company spokeswoman Elisabeth Jewel said Wednesday that Pacific Steel Casting expects to receive offers "shortly" for the its three plants in Berkeley.
Pacific Steel Casting also owes $31.4 million to about 1,300 current and former workers who sued the company in 2011. The company settled the lawsuit for about $5.4 million in January but "was not in a financial position to immediately fund the settlement," its bankruptcy lawyers said in court papers.