Johnson Controls to downsize, cut 300 jobs in Lexington

LEXINGTON, Tenn. — Around 300 jobs will be lost in West Tennessee after a manufacturer announces plans to stop work at its plant in Lexington.

Richard Russell spends Wednesday afternoons sitting on his front porch, which is directly across the street from the Johnson Controls plant. “I don’t know what they’re going to do.”

The global company recently announced plans to downsize over the next two years. “It’s just a bad day in Lexington,” Mayor David Jowers said.

“It’s going to have a terrific impact because all these people are going to be out of work,” Russell said.

City leaders said the plant has been in Lexington since the 1960s. “We have a lot to offer, good schools and a liveable community,” Jowers said.

According to the company’s website, the plant makes automotive parts. Mayor Jowers said he was first notified about the decision Monday. “What the company said officially was it was optimizing the footprint because of excessive capacity.”

The announcement comes only a few months after Leroy-Somer said 180 jobs will be cut from its Lexington workforce.

Jowers said the city and county have pooled funds to hire a newly created full-time position. Wednesday was the deadline for applicants to submit for the recruitment job.

According to Mayor Jowers, the person will focus on developing and recruiting manufacturing, industrial and retail industries to develop in Lexington and Henderson County.

The Mayor said it’s unclear when the first cuts will happen since a warning letter had not been issued to the city yet.