Faurecia Will Close Its Franklin, Ohio Plant in 2027, Cutting 180 Jobs in Five Waves

Faurecia Clean Mobility will permanently close its plant at 2301 Commerce Center Drive in Franklin, Ohio, and lay off all 180 employees in five phases beginning Jan. 8, 2027. The plan went to the state in a WARN notice filed with the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, and the last layoffs are due around April 30. The company's website shows it makes parts for vehicles to control emissions. For Metaintro readers who work at the plant or nearby, this guide covers the five-phase timeline, what federal and Ohio WARN law say each notice must contain, how to file for unemployment in Ohio, what happens to health coverage, and which Ohio automaker is planning to add jobs.

What Is Faurecia Closing in Franklin, and When?

On Nov. 6, Faurecia Clean Mobility notified the state of its intention to permanently close its facility, and the company plans to close and permanently lay off its whole workforce.

The layoffs come in waves rather than on one day. They will begin on Jan. 8, 2027 and will go through five phases until the last layoffs around April 30. The full window is wider than that last date suggests, because all employees are expected to be dismissed by April 30, 2027 or within two weeks thereafter.

The series of layoffs runs through April 2027 leading to the plant’s eventual permanent closure. For a phased closing, Ohio's state WARN form asks the employer to list your phased series of layoffs by Date of Layoff and Number of Affected Employees for each phase.

Why Is the Franklin Plant Closing?

The company has given only a short explanation. A company spokesman said in a statement that Faurecia is phasing out production at the Franklin site, based on the company's production needs and customer programs. The company did not indicate why it's closing in its notification to the state.

Faurecia Clean Mobility is a French company. Faurecia is part of the FORVIA group, which designs, engineers, and manufactures key components and smart systems for major carmakers worldwide.

The Franklin staff are not represented by a union. The spokesman added that the company is working with team members to support them during this transition, and in the company's words, employees will receive more specific information regarding their last day of employment and benefit information at a later date.

Based on our productions needs and customer programs, we will be phasing out production at our Franklin manufacturing site, a Faurecia spokesman said in a statement, according to the Dayton Daily News report.

What Do Five Phases Mean for Your Own Last Day?

A phased closing means workers will not all leave on the same date. Federal WARN rules allow either a fixed date or a window, because in the regulation a date can mean a specific date or to a 14-day period during which a separation or separations are expected to occur.

Where layoffs follow a plan, the schedule should indicate the specific dates on which or the beginning date of each 14-day period during which any separations are expected to occur.

The personal notice for each worker without a union must give the expected date when the plant closing or mass layoff will commence and the expected date when the individual employee will be separated, along with an indication whether or not bumping rights exist and the name and telephone number of a company official to contact for further information.

The notice also has to say whether the action is expected to be permanent or temporary and, if the entire plant is to be closed, a statement to that effect, and it must be written in language understandable to the employees. Keep your copy, since your own separation date is the one that matters for planning, not the plant's last day.

What Does the Federal WARN Act Guarantee Franklin Workers?

Under the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, a plant closing is the permanent or temporary shutdown of a single site of employment, or one or more facilities or operating units within a single site of employment that causes an employment loss during any 30-day period for 50 or more employees excluding any part-time employees.

The core rule is advance notice. An employer shall not order a plant closing or mass layoff until the end of a 60-day period after the employer serves written notice, and that notice goes to each affected worker when there is no union, plus the State or entity designated by the State to carry out rapid response activities and the chief elected local official.

Congress did not, however, give the Department any role in enforcing WARN, and WARN is enforced by private lawsuits in the Federal courts. An employer that breaks the notice rule owes each affected worker back pay for each day of violation plus lost benefits, for up to a maximum of 60 days, but in no event for more than one-half the number of days the employee was employed by the employer.

The purpose is time to plan. Congress passed WARN to provide workers with sufficient time to seek other employment or retraining opportunities, and early intervention can play an important role in their successful re-employment.

What Does Ohio's Own WARN Law Add?

Ohio Revised Code § 4113.31 requires employers to give 60 days’ advance notice of plant closings or mass layoffs to employees, unions, the state and local officials, and the provision took effect on September 29, 2025.

The bigger change is what goes inside the notice. For workers without a union, the Ohio notice must include a detailed statement explaining the reason for the plant closing or mass layoff and whether it will be permanent or temporary, and information on how affected employees can access unemployment insurance benefits and other assistance programs.

It must also list information about any available services for an affected employee, including job placement assistance, retraining programs, or counseling services, and give the name, title, and contact information of an employer representative who can answer questions about the closing.

In Ohio, notices also go to the chief elected official of the municipal corporation where the employment site is located, and the chief elected office of the county where the employment site is located, which for this plant means Franklin and Warren County, where the plant sits. The penalties mirror the federal ones, including paying impacted employees back wages and benefits for each day of violation.

How Do Laid-Off Franklin Workers File for Unemployment in Ohio?

Filing early matters. The state tells workers to apply for unemployment benefits as soon as you become unemployed, and a claim will become effective the Sunday after your application is filed.

To qualify, you must be totally or partially unemployed through no fault of your own, and you must have worked at least 20 weeks in covered employment and earned an average weekly wage of not less than 27.5 percent of the statewide average weekly wage, an amount the state recalculates every year. Earnings are counted in the base period of your claim, which is four out of the last five completed calendar quarters.

Workers can file online at unemployment.ohio.gov, as the state's filing guide explains, or apply by calling 1-877-644-6562, with call center hours of 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Have these ready before you start, as listed in the Ohio filing guide:

• Your Social Security number and driver’s license (or state ID) number.
• The name, address, telephone number, and dates of employment for your most recent employer and any other employers from the last 6 weeks.
• Bank routing and account number or debit card number for payment.

Two steps in the online form matter for plant layoffs. If you were provided a Mass-Layoff/Buyout Identification Number, the form asks you to enter it, and the application also registers you for job matching, where you choose two occupations in which you’d like to work. After that, keep filing weekly, because you must file weekly claims for each week that you are unemployed.

Note that it is not possible to apply for unemployment benefits in person, according to the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services filing guide.

What Happens to Health Coverage When the Plant Closes?

The federal Marketplace has a set route for workers losing job-based health insurance. You may qualify for a Special Enrollment Period if you or anyone in your household lost qualifying health coverage in the past 60 days OR expects to lose coverage in the next 60 days, which lets Franklin workers act before their phase date.

The rule covers losing health coverage through your employer, COBRA, or a family member’s employer plan. COBRA is a federal law that lets you and your family continue your employer-sponsored group health insurance for a limited time after a job loss, and when your COBRA coverage ends, you have 60 days to enroll in a Marketplace health plan.

The calendar also helps workers in the first phase. The annual Open Enrollment Period runs November 1 to January 15 each year, so anyone set to leave in January can compare Marketplace plans now.

Where Can Franklin Workers Find Job Search Help?

Ohio's public job site is the first stop. The OhioMeansJobs page for job seekers lets users search for a job by preferred job title, skill or company, and post your resume for employers to find.

The same page points to career transitions material for anyone considering a career change, plus sections to get training and improve your skills and write a great resume.

Rapid Response is a second layer of help. States provide Rapid Response services when significant layoffs or plant closings occur to help workers get needed services as quickly as possible, and states and local areas receive funding from DOL to provide dislocated workers with these kinds of services, such as finding new jobs or training. Under the federal law, that state notice goes to the body designated by the State to carry out rapid response activities.

In Ohio, employers submit WARN notices to Ohio's Rapid Response Unit at the Rapid Response mailbox: rapdresp@jfs.ohio.gov. After a notice arrives, a Rapid Response Coordinator follows up with the employer to offer no-cost services, such as unemployment benefit information, re-employment and training assistance for the affected employees, and the state shall not initiate contact with any listed employees without the employer’s prior consent and/or until after the effective layoff date.

Has Faurecia Closed an Ohio Plant Like This Before?

Yes. In 2024, Faurecia closed a plant in Troy. In 2024, Faurecia Exhaust Systems gave the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services notice that it would shut its Troy plant, affecting 60 employees. Those layoffs were set to run in five phases, starting in November, with the plant set to shut down in April.

The Troy notice listed the jobs being cut there. Most of the positions that will be eliminated are production control technicians and mill operators, and bumping rights don’t exist for these positions. Those Troy staff were also not represented by a union.

The reasons given differed. In Troy, a spokesperson said Faurecia wanted to make its manufacturing footprint more efficient, adding that the company had reached out to local agencies to help workers look for other employment opportunities.

Is Any Ohio Automaker Planning to Add Jobs?

One large plan elsewhere in Ohio is at Honda. Honda will invest $3 billion to build a new auto plant in Central Ohio, creating more than 2,000 new American jobs. The plant is expected to begin production in 2029, pending final government approvals, so these are future roles, not vacancies open this week.

The site will sit on land between the company’s existing East Liberty and Marysville Auto Plants. Honda is also undertaking major retooling of existing engine production equipment at the Anna Engine Plant, and it chose Ohio partly for its close proximity to a large concentration of the company’s U.S. supply base. Workers weighing those future roles can read what the Honda Ohio hybrid plant will need in workers.

What This Means for Franklin Workers, and What Should You Do Next?

The phased schedule gives most of the workforce time, but only if they use it. Workers in later phases can search while still employed. Supplier workers at an Indiana auto parts plant that is closing were also given a fixed last date ahead of time.

• Read your own notice closely. Federal rules say it should show the expected date when the individual employee will be separated, and Ohio's law adds information on how affected employees can access unemployment insurance benefits.
• File the week you are laid off. The state's advice is to apply for unemployment benefits as soon as you become unemployed, and enter any Mass-Layoff/Buyout ID you receive.
• Sort out health coverage before your phase date. The Marketplace window opens when you expect to lose coverage in the next 60 days.
• Post a resume now. Use OhioMeansJobs to post a resume and name your plant skills by job title.

Lacey Kaelani, Metaintro's CEO, puts it this way: A phased layoff is a head start, not a waiting room. Start applying while the paycheck is still coming in.

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People Also Asked

Q: When will the Faurecia plant in Franklin, Ohio close?

A: Layoffs will begin on Jan. 8, 2027 and will go through five phases until the last layoffs around April 30, leading to the plant's permanent closure.

Q: How many workers will lose their jobs at Faurecia in Franklin?

A: The plant will lay off all 180 employees, and none of them is represented by a union.

Q: Why is Faurecia closing the Franklin plant?

A: A spokesman pointed to the company's production needs and customer programs, and the company did not indicate why it's closing in its notification to the state.

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