(WWJ) Michigan's biggest craft brewery is laying off 163 employees amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Founders says is hopes the layoffs — in both Grand Rapids and Detroit — are temporary; no longer than 6 months. But they wouldn't commit to a timeframe.

"Founders cannot predict the duration of this layoff because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic," reads an official notice of the layoffs, provided to the state.

"Therefore, out of an abundance of caution, Founders is providing this notice to comply with the Worker Adjustment and Notice Retraining Notification Act. The employment sites for which the mass layoffs are planned are Founders’ retail operations in Grand Rapids and Detroit: the Grand Rapids Taproom and Company Store and the Detroit Taproom."

Read the complete letter (.pdf format)

Last August, Founders sold a 90 percent stake of the company to Spanish-based Mahou San Miguel.

These mass layoffs, which take effect on May 3, 2020, are just another round of many in metro Detroit in recent weeks.

Also Wednesday, Williams International — an aerospace supplier with locations in Commerce Township and Pontiac —will lay off 248 people.

As of last report by state officials, more than 1 million people in Michigan have applied for unemployment benfits since the virus crisus began.