225 workers to lose jobs as 50-year-old SC factory closes

Some 225 workers will be out of a job when a longtime South Carolina roller bearing company closes this year.

The Timken Co. told employees Monday the Gaffney plant was closing. The plant was the first non-textile manufacturer to locate in Cherokee County when it opened in 1971.

Timken employs about 18,000 people in 43 countries. It had $4.1 billion in sales in 2021, according to its annual report. Last February it announced it was providing engineered bearings to Ford for the F150 Lightning electric truck.

Scott Schroeder, spokesman for Ohio-based Timken, said employees will be able to apply for positions in other Timkin plants and will be given severance pay.

“While difficult, we’re making this change to streamline our operations and restructure our manufacturing footprint to better compete in a global market,” he said.

Cherokee County Development Board’s Executive Director Jim Cook said, “It was heartrending news to hear that The Timken Company – Gaffney Plant is closing this year.”

He said he hopes the closing does not have a significant impact on the economy.

“Employment numbers at the Gaffney Timken Plant have dwindled over the years from well over a thousand jobs to currently 250. Many other local industrial employers have job opportunities so hopefully it doesn’t have a significant impact on our unemployment,” he said.

He also said 2022 was a good year for economic development as will be shown in the board’s February report.

Through the years, a number of major corporations have located in Gaffney, including Nestle with 1,300 employees. The Switzerland-based company makes frozen foods there and announced a $100 million expansion in mid-2021.