TBK America, Japanese auto parts manufacturer, set to close lone U.S. plant in Richmond

RICHMOND — A Japanese automobile parts manufacturer's lone location outside of Asia will be completely shut down by the end of November.

TBK America, Inc., a subsidiary of TBK Group based in Tokyo, put in a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification to the Indiana Department of Workforce Development, indicating that it was laying off a total of 79 employees at its Richmond plant over the next three months, resulting in its closure.

The first set of layoffs will occur on Sept. 30 and will leave 70 workers without jobs, with an additional nine being laid off on Nov. 30. The document states that the closure will affect a total of 86 workers.

Positions affected by the closure include:

• Assemblers and Fabricators, All Other
• Bookkeeping, Accounting and Auditing Clerks
• Electrical and Electronics Engineering Technicians
• First-Line Supervisors of Helpers, Laborers and Hand Material Movers
• Human Resources Managers
• Industrial Production Managers
• Machinery Maintenance Workers
• Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks
• Sales Managers
• Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive

In addition to its Tokyo location, TBK Group has two other locations in Japan, along with four in China, two in Thailand and one in India.