“As you may be aware, the company is currently experiencing a period of financial distress and is in a Chapter 11 bankruptcy process,” the business said in a letter dated Feb. 27. “Nevertheless, the company has gone to great lengths to maintain its operations. This has included pursuing a sale process as well as attempting to seek additional funding from numerous outside parties.”
To no avail, however, the company added.
“The company has now made the difficult decision to close this facility,” First Brands said in its WARN (Worker Adjustment Retraining Notice) letter to the state. “The company expects that 302 total employees will be affected by this closure.”
The closure will begin on April 30, and it will be permanent, the business said.
More than a decade ago, FRAM Filtration committed to a $5.4 million, 20,000-square-foot expansion at its Greenville manufacturing facility, adding a fourth oil filter production line, bringing the plant’s annual capacity to more than 100 million oil filters.
The former chief executive of the Cleveland-based auto parts supplier that also produces Anco wiper blades, with his brother, are facing federal charges in New York, accused in an alleged multibillion-dollar fraud, national reports have said.
“The criminal charges relate to alleged historical actions by certain former executives who are no longer with First Brands Group or involved in the management, governance, or day-to-day operations of the company,” First Brands said in a Jan. 29 statement. “While these matters concern past conduct, their impact is being felt now by thousands of people.”
The business also said: “This is a tragic situation that has disrupted the lives of employees, families, and communities who depend on this business. We recognize the very real human toll of these events and the uncertainty many are facing.”
Hundreds of other First Brands workers across Ohio are also facing imminent layoffs.
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