190 jobs will be lost in Timken Ontario plant

Timken plant

The Timken Co. (NYSE:TKR) said on Thursday it would close a plant in St. Thomas, Ontario within one year, which will cause 190 job losses.

The Ohio-based production unit makes power transmission parts and  bearing lubrication.
Timken  said Thursday that customer service for its Canadian market will be moved to its offices in Toronto.

The plant was built in 1946 to serve the Canadian automotive market with production of tapered roller bearings for heavy-truck and industrial applications.

Timken plant
Timken said changes to its customer base have accelerated recently, which has lowered demand for its products made in St. Thomas, Ohio.
“With similar capacity available at plants located closer to customers, this is a necessary step to improve our service and competitiveness across North America,” said Timken’s director of global manufacturing, Richard Boyer.

Closing the plant will cost between $60 million in $70 million in severance payments to workers, payments into pension funds and site cleanup costs.

source: proactiveinvestors.com