Litzenburger Landscape to close

Company owner Gow Litzenburger notified customers of the closing in a March 14 letter. He cited significant delays this year in processing of federal H-2B work visas for guest workers from Mexico, who make up a significant share of the company’s workforce during the planting and growing season.

 

“A process that would take a week is now into like, 80 days,” Litzenburger said.

 

The decision to shut down operations was a tough one to make, he added.

 

“I was very disappointed,” Litzenburger said. “We had a model that worked and a mix of folks that worked. I just didn’t think we could deliver the product people had become accustomed to and the level of service people had become accustomed to.”

 

The company – known locally for its fleet of vintage work trucks, restored in-house and painted green and white – typically needs to have seasonal employees ready for work in early to mid-April, Litzenburger said. Based on recent projections for visa processing, the company owner said it appeared the guest workers would not be in a position to do so until June.

 

“It’s make-or-break for us,” Litzenburger said. “We do about 70 percent of our business before the Fourth of July.”

 

Litzenburger said the company has normally relied on about 30 of the guest workers, who have accounted for roughly half of its workforce at busy times of year. All of these workers had been returning annually for 10 years or more to fill the seasonal positions in Harbor Springs, he added.

 

The company also has relied on numerous employees from the local area, with more than a dozen recently working for Litzenburger Landscape on a year-round basis. Most of those workers appear on track to find new positions elsewhere, he added.

 

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