Evansville Auto Parts Supplier Closing

(stock image: Pixabay/J. Doardar)

More than 300 workers at an Evansville auto glass factory have been told the plant will be closing by the end of the year.

Pittsburgh Glass Works notified the state it intends to shut down the plant and lay off the entire workforce.

PGW, a division of Mexico-based Vitro, said the layoffs will begin on or about July 31 and will continue throughout the second half of the year.

In a company statement, PGW said it had been working on a turnaround plan for the Evansville plant since last year, but the coronavirus pandemic’s impact on auto sales created insurmountable challenges.

“The unprecedented disruption on the U.S. auto market created significant excess capacity and made it impossible for Vitro to complete the turnaround plan and return the plant to profitability,” said the company.

According to the company website, Vitro completed in 2017 the purchase of Pittsburgh Glass Works from LKQ Corp.