FOND DU LAC (NBC 26) — Wells Vehicle Electronics will lay off about 100 employees and permanently close its Fond du Lac manufacturing and warehouse sites, the company said Monday in a notice to government officials.
The closures will affect the manufacturing site at 385 W. Rolling Meadows Drive and the supporting warehouse at 420 Trowbridge Drive. The company said the shutdown is the result of circumstances beyond its control and will be permanent.
The layoffs will begin June 2, with all positions expected to be eliminated by March 2027, according to the notice provided under the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act.
Jobs being cut range from assemblers and manufacturing technicians to engineers, managers and supervisors. The company provided a list of affected roles, including 34 assembler positions, four senior manufacturing technicians, several engineering roles and warehouse staff.
Some employees are represented by UAW Local 646, though the company said there are no 'bumping' rights for displaced workers.
In a statement, the president of the company, Patrick J. Sommerfeld, clarifies that Wells Vehicle Electronics is not closing entirely.
"This action is limited to manufacturing operations and support that serve the Original Equipment (OE) division of the Wells business only, " Sommerfeld said. "It does not impact the remaining parts of the Wells business, which will continue to operate as usual in Fond du Lac."
"We will actively work to place these employees in other positions within Wells wherever possible," Sommerfeld added.
Editor's note: This web story was written by a human author with the assistance of artificial intelligence tools. All content has been reviewed and edited by the author for accuracy and clarity.
