Update: Owen Sound Tenneco Plant to Close in 2020

OWEN SOUND

Tenneco Inc.'s manufacturing facility in Owen Sound will close by the end of June 2020. Job cuts are expected to begin next summer. The plant, which employs 494 people and is one of the few remaining large manufacturing plants in the city, manufactures bearing control components such as shock absorbers and struts. Factory manager Jeff Kain said job losses are expected to begin next July, when a contract comes to an end. More jobs will be lost at the end of the other contracts. He expects the plant will not close until June 2020.
"This is a disappointing news for Owen Sound," said Mayor Ian Boddy. Kain informed the city of the impending closure by phone on Friday morning. "There are a lot of employees and families. So when you lose a plant like this, your city still suffers. "
Closing is not the fault of workers, Kain said in an interview. "We have certainly been a successful factory here. This decision today has nothing to do with our performance. "We are certainly well known in Tenneco for our quality, efficiency and performance. And it's not just in the short term, it's over the years for 43 years. It's just an excellent plant and a very devastating news for us to hear that, "he said. Kain said the decision to shut down the plant went to Tenneco, which had four traffic control plants, but only enough business for two.
"It's obvious that this plant is far away from our customers and that would certainly be a reason too," he said. The factory opened its doors in 1975. In 2016, she won the GM Platinum Award for her delivery on time the year before, recognizing that the factory was still producing parts. quality on time, "said a communications officer at Tenneco. Tenneco's recent acquisition of Federal-Mogul LLC, a global manufacturer and distributor of auto parts, has nothing to do with creating overcapacity, as its factories do not manufacture parts made in Owen Sound, Kain said. Similarly, recent free trade agreements with the United States, Mexico and US President Donald Trump's steel tariffs "did not affect" this decision, he said. "We have seen for some time a decline in the overall activity of this plant," he said. "It started well before the change of government and the tariff change. . . These problems we started well before that. The news was announced to about 300 employees during a meeting with 8 am with Neville Rudd, senior vice president, Global Ride Control. Another meeting at 4pm details shared with the incoming quarter.
Some unhappy employees left work early. Kain said he was sorry he could not talk to everyone at once. "We have a lot of families working in the factory," he said. "It's certainly unfortunate that we must have heard this news, because we know that young families in particular are affected by it and have young children, mortgages, car payments, and so on. It is devastating to hear that and our heart goes to them. "We have a lot of skilled people working at the plant and a lot of them have been working there for decades, other than me," he said.
Kain has been working at the factory for 27 years and, as far as he knows, he will also lose his job, he said. Tenneco has provided employment assistance, family and retirement assistance and resume writing assistance. He will post job offers in the area. All staff wishing to apply for vacancies within Tenneco will be encouraged to do so. The only other Tenneco plant in Canada is located in Cambridge. Workers produce clean air products.
Boddy said, "If there is a silver glow in the gray cloud," it is that the unemployment rate is low, which gives hope that some will find work locally.
He noted extensions at MacLean Engineering, Bellwyck Packaging and the arrival of BWXT Canada Ltd. and Brotech Precision CNC in the former PPG glass manufacturing plant. The latter two companies will manufacture and assemble components for the multi-billion dollar Bruce Power Nuclear Power Plant life extension program. "We are grateful that they were kind to everyone and gave them a lot of notice before the second mandate of 2020," Boddy said. "This gives us time to work with Tenneco and their employees to see what we can do to help them ensure the availability of training resources for re-employment." "We are always trying to attract companies and manufacturers in the region – and especially with the opportunities offered by the Bruce Power rebuild – we are sometimes limited by the manufacturing space we have. "So, this can free up space.When you have employees and a building, you can also have someone come quickly." The company's announcement announced that another plant in Hartwell, Georgia, would close "to improve operational efficiency and respond to changing market conditions and capacity requirements." Closure plants will be primarily transferred to Tenneco's traffic control facility in Kettering, Ohio, later this year, the company said.The two plants will be closed "by the end of the second quarter of 2020" "The steps we are taking today to realign our North American traffic control activities will enhance our long-term competitiveness in this extremely important region," said Brian Kesseler, Tenneco's co-CEO. aware of the impact of this action on our employees and work with local communities to provide assistance and s the employees involved, including opportunities to transfer to other Tenneco sites. "The company estimates that its restructuring will generate between $ 20 million and more. Annualized savings of $ 25 million from the end of 2020. Headquartered in Lake Forest, Illinois, Tenneco is one of the world's leading designers, manufacturers and marketers Rolling and clean air performance products and technologies for light vehicles, trucks and commercial vehicles. road equipment and the aftermarket, says the statement, whose turnover in 2017 amounted to $ 9.3 billion and employs about 32,000 people worldwide. In addition, Tenneco stated in the same press release that on October 1, it had finalized the acquisition of Federal-Mogul LLC, a global manufacturer of automotive parts and a distributor for OEMs and the aftermarket. It had nearly 55,000 employees. It also announced the creation of two new independent companies: an after-sales service and driving performance company and a new powertrain technology company in 2019. The company's service and performance companies in Spare will be one of the world's largest multi-brand aftermarket companies, and one of the world's largest companies in performance and original equipment braking. Its brands will include Monroe, Walker, Clevite Elastomers, MOOG, Fel-Pro, Wagner, Champion and others. The future powertrain technology company will serve the global OEM market by offering products that address fuel economy, power output and pollution in gasoline, diesel and electric powertrains.