MALVERN, Ark. (AP) — A plant that makes aluminum die castings will close by the end of the year, putting 250 employees out of work, the company announced.
Leggett and Platt says it's closing its Precision Industries plant in Malvern, Ark., in December. The cuts will affect 215 production and support staff, 11 administrative staff and 24 managers.
''The decision to close the Malvern operation was based on a number of factors — including the fact that it has been losing money, margins have been eroded by global competition and there have been inefficiencies we have been unable to overcome,'' said Rick Teague, vice president of human resources at Leggett and Platt.
Teague says the company has contacted the state's dislocated workers task force to help out the employees in Malvern.
''The economic impact as far as the city of Malvern is minimal,'' Mayor Steve Northcutt told television station KATV in Little Rock, Ark. ''The economic impact as far as the families that work there is devastating.''
