Buffalo, NY (WBEN) Ingersoll Rand has announced it will shut down its Buffalo manufacturing plant this July. Up to 300 jobs will be affected.
In a statement, the company says it "remains committed to Buffalo and will retain, and continue to invest in, a Technology Center at the current facility. Supporting our products and services globally, nearly 150 employees will focus on engineering, sales and service and other customer-facing roles. The Technology Center is in addition to the company’s Buffalo locations – a customer center and two Trane facilities, a brand of Ingersoll Rand."
A spokesperson tells WBEN if manufacturing is stopped, approximately 300 jobs will be impacted.
The company says it intends to "transition and consolidate the majority of Buffalo production capability for our core product line to Mocksville, N.C. We also will transition a smaller amount of production capability to our Vignate, Italy facility, and continue existing production capability in our Wujiang, China facility, which was implemented 18 months ago to serve increasing demand from customers in the region."
The company adds it is "committed to supporting employees with competitive severance packages, on-site employee assistance programs, job placement services and the opportunity to apply for jobs at other company locations. We also plan to work with the union in Buffalo to fulfill legal obligations concerning collective bargaining and what the plan means for represented employees."
Congressman Brian Higgins issued this statement: “Ingersoll Rand’s announcement represents the latest in a growing list of local manufacturing jobs lost at the expense of tax and trade policies that fail to put American workers first. We are experiencing firsthand the failed promises of the GOP tax bill. From Dresser Rand in Olean to BAK USA in Buffalo and from New Era in Derby to Globe Specialty Metals in Niagara Falls, the corporate tax cuts are not trickling down to hardworking Western New Yorkers and the tariffs are not protecting American jobs. Instead, haphazard policy that favors big business is incentivizing outsourcing and putting people out of work.”