Johnson Controls plant in Jefferson City will close by end of year
Read more: Local, State, Business
JEFFERSON CITY -- A Jefferson City factory will close its doors, ending the jobs of more than a hundred people.
Johnson Controls, located at 2730 W. Main St., confirmed Wednesday they will shut down their Jefferson City plant by the end of the year. The move will put 120 people out of work.
It also comes just one day after another Jefferson City factory, ABB, announced it will layoff 80 people.
"Johnson Controls, we're well on our way to another century of growth," a female narrator said in an online commercial. But while ads like that tout their global success, company officials are now saying business isn't doing well.
Johnson Controls manufactures the foam cores used in car seats. With car sales down nationwide, the company said they're doing business in a "challenging automotive environment," and had to make some difficult decisions as a result.
"We're always disappointed to see those jobs leave, obviously," said Jefferson City Mayor John Landwehr. "It's a clean industry, up until now it was a stable industry. But of course the automotive industry throughout the US is struggling."
Landwehr said he wants to continue working to attract new businesses while keeping existing ones. He said the city is prepared to look at various incentive packages.
At the Johnson Controls plant, employees said they couldn't talk about the factory's closing. Most just drove by but the few who stopped to talk said they were worried about their jobs and their families. One employee, who wouldn't give his name, said "Vote Democrat, that's all I have to say," and drove off.
Johnson Controls employs 140,000 people in 125 different countries. Company officials said the jobs cut in Jefferson City won't be shipped overseas. Instead, they'll be distrubted to other plants across the US.
"This was a difficult but necessary decision to help maintain our competitiveness, improve our cost structure and align our resources for future growth," a spokesperson for the company said in a written statement. "We appreciate the hard work and dedication of our team members in Jefferson City."
So far, no word on the exact date the factory will close, nor what sort of severance benefits employees can expect.
