Glasgow factory closes its doors, 65 full-time jobs lost

By MICHAEL CRIMMINS
Glasgow News 1

JNM Kentucky, an automotive metal stamping company on Carroll Knicely Drive in Glasgow, has officially closed its doors, according to Maureen Carpenter, president and CEO of the Barren County Economic Authority. The closure left roughly 65 full-time workers without a job, though some quickly found employment elsewhere.

JNM Kentucky was one of five companies within the JNM Group of Companies — the others being Windsor Metal Technologies, JNM Tool & Manufacture Inc. and two JNM facilities in Mexico. According to a 35-page JNM presentation, the Glasgow facility was purchased in 2017 as a “strategic opportunity to enter the U.S. market.” According to the Barren County Clerk’s Office the property, on which the 14,000 sq. ft. facility is located, is 14.58 acres.

JNM Group was founded in 1991 and originated in Ontario, Canada, just 15 minutes from the U.S. border. According to Carpenter, the company decided to discontinue the Glasgow facility opting to focus on the Canada side of the business.

“I don’t really have much information on that other than I talked to the company and they have decided to consolidate their company back into Canada,” Carpenter said. “They have decommissioned that facility and it is on the market for lease or sale.”

Carpenter said the decision to vacate the Glasgow facility happened suddenly saying “they were gone before I found out.”

“We worked with them during the automotive strike that had a significant impact on them,” Carpenter said. “We were trying to work with them on anything we could do to retain the employees but ultimately, apparently they made the decision to pull out of that facility and go back to Canada.”

According to Carpenter there has been silence from the company since its decision.

“They have not shared any information,” Carpenter said. “Corporate is not saying anything other than what they’ve told the property owner and former employees.”

Carpenter said, and confirmed by the presentation, that JNM Kentucky employed 65 people, most of whom have been able to get employment at similar factories in Bowling Green and surrounding cities.

GN1 has reached out to the JNM Group of Companies but, at the time of publication, had not heard back. This article will be updated as more information becomes available.