Delivery truck maker Morgan Olson will lay off a total of 908 workers from its plants in Michigan, Tennessee and Virginia, the company disclosed through the states’ Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act systems in October.
Morgan Olson produces aluminum delivery trucks and vans for companies such as UPS, FedEx and Aramark, according to their website. The layoffs will begin Dec. 22 and will be complete by the end of the year, according to the WARN letters. The workforce cuts at all three locations are temporary, according to a statement from the company.
“Major parcel delivery companies have communicated to Morgan Olson that new vehicle purchase orders will be delayed due to the current economic conditions and forecasts,” the company said in a statement to Manufacturing Dive. “As a result, Morgan Olson will temporarily be reducing their workforce at all three Morgan Olson locations in Michigan, Tennessee, and Virginia.”
Of the three facilities, the Ringgold, Virginia, facility will have the most layoffs with 435.
The number of workers losing their jobs at Morgan Olson’s plant in Loudon, Tennessee, is 290, followed by 183 workers in Sturgis, Michigan.
The Ringgold site is the company’s newest location, which it established in a former Ikea facility in 2020. The facility had been projected to create over 700 jobs when it opened.
In its Virginia WARN letter, the company said it hopes business improves so it can rehire.
“Ongoing production will continue at all locations as the company looks forward to the return of the parcel delivery market demand and new product offerings,” Morgan Olson said in a statement.
Morgan Olson is a subsidiary of J.B. Poindexter & Co., a manufacturing investment firm based in Houston. It’s also not the only J.B. Poindexter company to lay off its workers in recent months. Morgan Olson’s sister company Leer Group announced last month plans to close its two sites in California, laying off over 200 employees.
