Stanley Black & Decker Closes 2 Manufacturing Plants, Adds 357 Workers To List Of Layoffs
A shuffling of Stanley Black & Decker’s production and distribution network is expected to result in hundreds of layoffs as the company looks to temper the effects of an ongoing economic downturn.
The power tools and lawn equipment manufacturer said it will transfer its Cheraw, South Carolina, operations to two facilities in Tennessee and shutter its plant in Fort Worth, Texas. The move is part of a larger effort to deliver $2B in cost savings, according to a news release.
The latest round of layoffs comes on the heels of a reduction to the company’s finance department in late 2022. At the time, the company pointed to high inflation and dampened demand as driving the decision, according to The Wall Street Journal.
“These actions are necessary as we successfully navigate the current market environment,” President and CEO Donald Allan Jr. told the WSJ last July.
The company joins a slew of other businesses whose employment cuts have had a domino effect on real estate. The tech industry’s notorious layoff campaign has put a major dent in office occupancy over the past few months, with the industry’s total share of leasing activity dropping from 21% in 2021 to 16% by the midpoint of 2022.
Stanley Black & Decker broke ground on its Fort Worth factory in 2019, saying at the time the plant would “leverage some of the most advanced manufacturing technologies available to optimize productivity and sustainability.”
Company spokeswoman Debora Raymond told the WSJ the plant suffered lasting fallout from the pandemic as well as supply chain snafus and production technology that failed to meet expectations.
The Stanley Black & Decker facility closures will impact 175 Texas workers and another 182 employees in South Carolina. But 80 new jobs will be added in Tennessee, and employees impacted by the transition will be offered jobs at other facilities, the company said.
