BRISTOL, Tenn. (AP) — Exide Technologies has announced it will lay off 236 employees at its battery-manufacturing plant in Bristol, Tenn., over the next 12 to 18 months.
The company said Monday the fate of another 233 jobs will be decided in the next three months.
Exide officials blamed the sluggish economy, according to the Bristol Herald Courier (http://bit.ly/tJZTi2 ).
Manufacturing work will be moved to one of Exide's five remaining plants in the U.S.
For many years, Exide was among Bristol's largest employers, boasting more than 800 workers. But in 2009, the company cut about 570 jobs. Exide had gradually increased employment since then based mostly on contracts with Nissan and Chrysler.
