Schaumburg, Illinois-based Nippon Electric Glass America, a fiberglass producer, has announced that its parent company, Nippon Electric Glass, is withdrawing from glass fiber manufacturing in North America due to intense market competition. It will be closing its manufacturing plant in Shelby, North Carolina.
The closure will impact 282 employees. Layoffs will commence on August 31, 2026, and the overall process is expected to conclude by September 30, 2027.
According to a company statement, "The business environment surrounding our Group’s composites business has remained challenging in recent years due to changes in market structure and intensifying competition. Through these measures, we have been working to restructure our production operations, while also striving to improve productivity and review our product portfolio. With this decision, we will streamline less competitive products to concentrate our management resources on growth areas and achieving medium- to long-term growth and improved profitability in the composites business."
Change is constant, and it's coming. There will always be a tomorrow, no matter how much you may try to ignore it. There are no guarantees in life, nor promises of a bright future. We see good people being laid off through no fault of their own. Just because something terrible hasn't happened yet doesn't mean it won't. It can happen to anyone, at any time, anywhere. No one is guaranteed to wake up tomorrow and still have a job by evening. While many employees can read the writing on the wall, why do most assume it’s targeted at someone else? Are you now wondering, Am I Next?