Tenneco has announced it is closing its plant in Owen Sound.
The Owen Sound facility currently employs 494 people.
The manufacturer is also closing a plant in Hartwell, Georgia as part of an initiative to realign its manufacturing footprint
Tenneco expects to complete the closure of the two facilities near the end of the second quarter of 2020.
Owen Sound City Manager Wayne Ritchie said the announcement was not welcome news, and the city now has to figure out what to do to help the nearly 500 employees and their families.
"Well we're certainly disappointed with the news," he said. "We're particularly concerned for the employees and their families, and in the coming weeks we will work with Tenneco and those employees to ensure that all the resources that should be made available to them are."
Ritchie said that when you have a significant job loss like this, it can have significant impacts on the local economy and the surrounding area's economy as well. He says the city will be trying to attract new business and potential employers.
"Well we certianly will be looking at retraining and reemployment, and we have partners that are certainly more hands on with that than the city is, but we also will be working to get other employment coming to the area. We always do that and we will continue to do that."
The company said the closures of the original equipment ride control facilities will enhance operational efficiency and respond to changing market conditions and capacity requirements.
The company expects to begin transferring current customer business primarily to its ride control facility in Kettering, Ohio, later this year.
The company estimates that these restructuring actions will generate between $20 million and $25 million in annualized savings beginning by the end of 2020.
“I am disappointed in the news of Tenneco ceasing operations at their Owen Sound facility,” stated Mayor Ian Boddy. “Our hearts go out today to the employees and families affected most by this closure. In the coming weeks, the City will work with Tenneco and its employees to ensure all available re-employment and training resources are made available.”