Regal to close West Plains operation

WEST PLAINS, Mo. — Regal Beloit will be closing its West Plains location.

In a letter sent to the Missouri Department of Economic Development’s Office of Workforce Development dated November 1 and posted on the OWD website, the company says the closure will be effective May 31, 2020.

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The layoffs will happen in stages starting January 3, with all 204 employees of the facility to be without a job come May 31, according to the letter.

Regal is a manufacturer of electric motors, mechanical and electrical motion controls, and power generation products used around the globe in heating, ventilation, air conditioning, commercial refrigeration, food processing, pharmaceutical, chemical processing, material handling, medical, oil and gas, construction, manufacturing, power generation, agriculture and mining, according to the company website.

The city of West Plains issued a statement on the closure at 5:11 pm, saying:

“The City of West Plains cannot confirm or deny the reports that the Regal Beloit plant in West Plains is closing. At this time we are trying to confirm those reports with management. However, if this is true this would be a great disappointment to our community, and we want to assure our citizens that we will work with the State of Missouri and West Plains Regional Economic Development to lessen the impact on those employees and their families.”

Regal Beloit also provided a statement to Ozark Radio News, saying:

“The Regal Commercial Motor business is restructuring its manufacturing footprint to proactively position it for long-term success. Given the current operating realities of the competitive global market, the business has decided to close its West Plains, Missouri facility. The work will be transferred to other facilities within the business to increase synergies with our parts and assembly plants. While the transfer will occur in phases over the next nine months, we wanted to provide our associates with as much notice as possible. The first portion of production transitioning will begin in the 4th quarter of 2019 with the final closure expected by the end of the 2nd quarter of 2020. We are committed to working closely with our associates throughout this process to minimize disruption or personal impact and to ensure a successful transition for our customers.”

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