MILLEDGEVILLE, Ga. (AP) -- Rheem Manufacturing Co. is closing its Milledgeville heating and cooling unit plant by the year's end -- which means 1,200 people will be out of a job.
Officials with the Atlanta-based company are expected to begin severance negotiations with union representatives on Wednesday.
The layoffs will take place in phases beginning in May. Production will continue at the privately held company's plants in Fort Smith, Arkansas, and Nuevo Laredo, Mexico.
The cuts, which Rheem blamed on the poor economy, come as Georgia deals with record-high unemployment. January's rate hit 8.6 percent, with 412,770 jobless Georgians looking for work.