Venice-based PGT Inc. (Nasdaq:

``We've done everything in our power to maintain our current workforce, but for the long-term health of the Company, we had to make the difficult decision to downsize our workforce,'' PGT CEO and president Rod Hershberger stated in a news release. ``This restructuring, and the many difficult decisions that accompany it, is essential to position the company to weather what many are referring to as a perfect storm in the housing industry.”

The job cuts, combined with “previously taken actions and employee attrition,” will result in an aggregate workforce reduction of roughly 27 percent since October and 40 percent since September of 2006.

PGT manufactures impact-resistant windows and doors. The company now employs about 1,500 at its facilities in Venice and Salisbury, NC. In the aggregate, the Company expects to realize annualized savings in excess of $8 million.