Tenneco to Close 2 N. American Plants

Lake Forrest, Ill.-based Tenneco Inc. plans to close its manufacturing facilities in Hartwell, Georgia, and Owen Sound, Ont., by the second quarter of 2020.

The ride control and emissions systems supplier will begin transferring most work to its Kettering, Ohio, site later this year. Tenneco estimates the closures will generate as much as $25 million in annualized savings beginning by the end of 2020.

The Georgia and Ontario plants each employ about 500 workers, some of whom will have the opportunity to transfer to the Ohio facility. About 300 jobs will be added in Kettering, including the transfers.

Tenneco previously announced it would invest $61 million to expand and modernize the Kettering plant. The factory, which makes shock absorbers and struts, currently employs some 400 workers.