Yahoo Finance Charlotte factory closing, causing nearly 80 layoffs as company moves work to Mexico
Industrial manufacturing company Columbus McKinnon is closing a Charlotte plant next month which will leave 79 people without jobs as operations are shifted 2,300 miles away to Mexico.
In a statement, Columbus McKinnon called the move “a difficult decision.”
The company is closing its Duff-Norton facility on Pioneer Avenue on Sept. 29. Columbus McKinnon produces lifting devices, hoists and conveyor belts. The Duff-Norton division makes screw jacks, rotary unions and other industrial devices.
It had moved its corporate headquarters from Buffalo, New York, to Charlotte in 2022.
Columbus McKinnon’s products can move everything from a nearly 50-ton airplane wing to theater lighting, the Observer reported at the time. Its products are also used by auto companies to help assemble cars as well as e-commerce users fulfill online orders.
Columbus McKinnon sent a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification letter to the North Carolina Department of Commerce on Tuesday, citing “ongoing and continued poor plant performance” as the reason for the closure.
A total of 73 employees will be laid off in September. Columbus McKinnon anticipates that another six workers will lose their jobs on March 31, 2025, due to the closure.
The company is assisting employees with their transition, spokeswoman Kristy Moser said in a statement to The Charlotte Observer.
Columbus McKinnon is moving the plant operations to Monterrey, Mexico, as part of a consolidation process for North American linear motion production.
“While it was a difficult decision, it was necessary to achieve our customer experience and growth goals,” Moser stated.
About Columbus McKinnon
Although Columbus McKinnon is shutting down the Duff-Norton plant, the company will continue to invest in job growth in North Carolina, Moser stated. Columbus McKinnon operates two floors of a building at 13320 Ballantyne Corporate Place, as its headquarters, just south of Interstate 485 in Ballantyne.
“In fact, after accounting for the closure, employment in the region will be roughly flat to three years ago with a mix shift to higher-paying positions,” Moser added.
In 2022, President and CEO David Wilson said he was drawn to Ballantyne area because some research and development employees were already there, the Observer reported at the time. He also cited the area’s growth.
Wilson also said bringing his core team together along with other employees would drive a better culture and improve its ability to work with customers, many of whom are in the Southeast.
Before the company came to Charlotte, Wilson said the office would be home to 65 research and and development employees, the Observer reported. It also had room to hire another 100 people.
The company operates offices and manufacturing facilities across North America, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia and Oceania.
Columbus McKinnon employs more than 3,000 people worldwide, and has more than 100 people at its headquarters.
The publicly traded company had net revenue of $239.7 million, according to its first quarter earnings report for the 2025 fiscal year on Wednesday.
