Tenneco files WARN notice as Kettering plant closure nears; Layoffs to start in June

KETTERING — Layoffs at the Tenneco plant in Kettering will start in June and come “in waves” before the facility will fully and permanently close at the end of 2023, according to an official notice filed with the State of Ohio this week.

>>PREVIOUS REPORT: ‘It’s a lot of hurt,’ 648 employees impacted by Kettering Tenneco plant closure

Tenneco representatives filed a notice with the Ohio Department of Jobs and Family Services this week, as part of the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN). WARN notices are required under federal law for companies to file notice at least 60 days in advance of layoffs and plant closures.

In November 2021, Tenneco officials publicly announced the Kettering plant on Woodman Drive would be closed permanently, eliminating over 600 jobs.

While the complete plant closure will happen in December 2023, layoffs at the facility will start by June 12, Tenneco representatives said in the notice sent to both the ODJFS and Kettering Mayor Peggy Lehner.

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“Tenneco currently employs 597 total union and non-union employees at the Facility. All positions at the Facility will be permanently eliminated in waves beginning June 12, 2022, or 14-days thereafter and continuing through December 31, 2023,” representatives said in the notice, filed April 11.

“A schedule for all job eliminations is not known at this time. However, Tenneco will provide each affected employee (directly or through their union representative, as applicable) at least 60 days’ advance notice of their separation date,” the notice reads.

>>RELATED: City estimates $750,000 loss in tax dollars per year with Tenneco closure

Previously, Lehner spoke with News Center 7 and said Kettering, regional economic groups, and the state are already looking for ways to redevelop the site.

“One thing I think is really significant too, is that we’ve got two years to do it. They’re not walking out this week. And that’s unusual to have that kind of warning. So I feel very confident that we will provide the work that is needed to get the employees to land in new jobs,” Lehner said in an interview with News Center 7′s John Bedell in December.

“And we then have a first-class manufacturing facility that we can go out and market. Market to the entire nation. ‘Come to Kettering. It’s built. It’s here. It’s ready to go,’”

We’ll continue to update this story as we learn more.

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