Pittsfield’s Rustic Crust, the town’s third-largest employer, closed its doors last week after nearly three decades of business, laying off dozens of workers.

Employees received a letter notifying them they were being let go “due to economic and industry forces beyond our control.” Some layoffs took place in the days and weeks prior to the company closing, but a mass layoff occurred Friday after employees worked a full day.

Despite financial troubles, company president and founder Brad Sterl still held out hope to keep the company going in some capacity.

“It was a sudden change that happened, and I’m hoping we can find a solution and to get as many people back to work as reasonably possible,” Sterl said. “It was not a planned event.”

The company, founded in 1996, was known for selling frozen pizzas and ready-made crusts at stores such as Whole Foods, Market Basket, Hannaford, Stop & Shop, and Publix.

“It’s a lot of stress,” said Paul Cote, who worked at the company for over 13 years. “Everybody there was like family. Once you’re in a job for so long, you get really good at it. There was nothing in that building I did not do. I’ve worked in every department.”

Cote was laid off from his position as a team leader last Tuesday, right after returning from vacation. Cote worked two hours that day before he received the news.

When the Pittsfield factory burned down in 2014, the company rebuilt and continued to pay employees in the interim, which bolstered its reputation as a good place to work and drew loyalty from staff.

“I appreciate each and every one of these people,” Sterl said of the 75 or so employees. “We’ve had some of the best workers that I’ve seen here or throughout other organizations. The last thing I ever wanted to do is have to lay off a group of people. All the way from our private equity group, everybody has worked hard to find a solution.”

Pittsfield resident Janice Oliver left an 18-year position in Concord to join the company two years ago as an accounting assistant. She felt the end coming for a few months.

“In any business, as an employee, whether you work in an office or on the floor, you can feel the shift in demand and product,” Oliver said. “When you see things slow down, you kind of know.”

She was laid off with the majority of employees on Friday afternoon and said she could tell it was rough for Sterl to have to let people go.

“He cares, and he was deeply upset,” Oliver said. “He grew the company from infancy up to adulthood, and to have to close his doors I can guarantee you was not the easiest choice.”

Sterl said that the company had been working through some issues and is still seeking solutions.

“We fully expected that we had an answer to it and to keep the business moving forward,” Sterl said. “A lot of companies go through challenges, whether it’s material cost or other impacts from the environment of business today. So it’s not that dissimilar to many other companies that have things hit. Unfortunately, a couple of ours were bigger than what was expected and decisions had to be made.”

New Hampshire Department of Labor Commissioner Ken Merrifield said his office is looking into the situation.

“Our concern at the Labor Department is making sure everyone is paid the wages that are due,” he said. “That’s our primary focus.”

Nicole Levesque worked as a quality assistant for less than a year. She was laid off last Tuesday with several others. A mother of four, she needs to find another source of income to support her family.

”It’s horrible,” Levesque said. “I was laid off prior to when the doors closed. I thought it was me and I should have done something better.”

Learning about the layoff on Friday built a clearer picture of the situation for Levesque, who said she could tell the company was struggling in the time she worked there.

”It’s not a surprise it happened but it absolutely stinks that I’m in the position I’m in because I have no job now. I have no car and no license. I get only as far as my feet can carry me,” Levesque said.

The day he was laid off, Cote immediately began searching for a new job to continue paying off his mortgage and putting his three children through college. He said he “basically” lives paycheck to paycheck and needs to find a new source of income as soon as possible.

“This can hurt us,” he said. “Now going and starting off at the very beginning again, it’s tough. But I’m gonna keep my eyes open.”

In her search for a new job, Oliver reached out to the Pittsfield community on Facebook and was heartened by the responses she received.

“I wasn’t sure where to go,” Oliver said. “I know you have unemployment and internet resources. Sometimes with word of mouth, people know more about what’s happening around you because they’re in it themselves so they’re able to point you in the right direction, and it was nice to see that and know what people do care.”

Rachel Wachman can be reached at rwachman@ cmonitor.com.