KINGS MOUNTAIN – ABB will permanently close a facility in Kings Mountain later this year, and all 265 employees who work in the large motors and generator plant are affected by the closure.
Layoffs will be phased, according to the company’s required notice to the North Carolina Department of Commerce pursuant to the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act, which was obtained by WRAL TechWire, beginning on or within a 14-day period around July 6, 2021, with additional layoffs occurring on or around August 7, 2021.
‘The Kings Mountain, North Carolina facility has a complex structure which supports multiple motor product lines, and ABB produces similar motors in other factories,” Christopher Shigas, a spokesperson for the company told WRAL TechWire. “The Kings Mountain business has also been heavily impacted by negative market conditions in both the oil and gas and mining industries.”
The company will relocate a portion of its manufacturing operations to a plant in Georgia, and will move other manufacturing to additional facilities operated by the company.
ABB will employ about 1,600 people in North Carolina at facilities across the state, including at an electrification facility in Mebane in the midst of a nearly $40 million expansion that remains on track, according to Shigas.
“We are committed to helping each permanent employee identify appropriate open ABB opportunities and assist them through the transition period,” said Shigas. “We appreciate the good relationship we have had with the Kings Mountain community, and we appreciate their support of our employees, our customers, our suppliers, and our business as we make this transition.”
ABB is headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland, and its U.S. headquarters is in Cary. The company research and development campus is in Raleigh, and also operates manufacturing facilities in Asheville, Marion, Hickory, and Pinetops.
