BorgWarner to close Indiana manufacturing plant

BorgWarner Inc., an automotive components supplier headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan, is planning to close one of two facilities in Indiana later this year.

The company confirmed to Inside INdiana Business the closure will affect about 150 employees at its Morgan Street Production Plant in Kokomo.

The facility, which was acquired by BorgWarner as part of its $3.3 billion acquisition of Delphi Technologies in 2020, produces electronics and power electronics for hybrid vehicles.

When asked what led to the decision to close the facility, a spokesperson said, “BorgWarner is making market-driven adjustments to adapt its cost structure in order to remain competitive in the current environment, including restructuring, closure, or consolidation of manufacturing and/or technical centers in all major regions.”

The layoffs will occur in two phases, the first of which will begin in early October that will affect 84 direct employees. The second phase is slated for mid-2024, but an exact date has not been determined.

The company said it will provide the affected workers with assistance in looking for new employment. The spokesperson said the company also contracts with service agencies who employ temporary workers at the plant that will also be affected.

A spokesperson for BorgWarner said the company has filed a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification with the Indiana Department of Workforce Development, which requires employers to provide 60 days’ notice in advance of plant closings and mass layoffs. That notice has not yet been made publicly available.

The closure is not expected to affect the Kokomo Technical Center, which BorgWarner also took over after the Delphi acquisition.

BorgWarner also operates the Noblesville Technical Center, which opened in 2018 and consolidated the company’s operations from its former facilities in Anderson and Pendleton.

The company employs about 38,000 people around the world, including 985 in Indiana.