A Volkswagen supplier is closing its Chattanooga facility and will lay off 156 workers within the next three months, according to a layoff notice the company filed with the state last week.
ThyssenKrupp LLC, an American automotive division of the German-based engineering and steel production conglomerate, filed an official Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification last Monday indicating the company will begin laying off workers in early May and permanently close its operations at 8005 Volkswagen Drive by May 20.
ThyssenKrupp officials declined to discuss its closure in Chattanooga. In an emailed statement, Konrad Böcker, head of communications for automotive technology at ThyssenKrupp, said “we cannot comment on this matter as it is an internal business affair.”
Volkswagen of America also declined comment on the plant closure at the VW supplier park, which houses ThyssenKrupp among seven other suppliers and sits next to Volkswagen’s Chattanooga assembly plant.
The layoff notice will trigger programs by the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development to help displaced workers look for other jobs, get training for another job or file for unemployment assistance, among other services, according to the department’s assistant director of business solutions, Houston Shaw.