City estimates $750,000 loss in tax dollars per year with Tenneco closure

KETTERING — The city of Kettering estimates it will see a $750,000 impact per year on the city’s general fund with the tax dollars it would no longer see once Tenneco closes its doors for good in 2023, Kettering City Manager Mark Schwieterman said.

“We will certainly expect and plan for a declining tax revenue in 2022 and 2023. Income Tax Revenue supports the City’s General Fund operations,” Schwieterman said. “The reduction from Tenneco will be factored into our future budgets and allocation of resources within the General Fund.”

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Tenneco announced Thursday to employees that it plans to have a phased closing at the Woodman Drive shock absorber manufacturing facility. The closure will impact 648 employees currently working at the site.

“This is a great team in Kettering and we recognize the impact this action will have on our team members. We will work to provide transition assistance for all affected team members, including some opportunities to transfer to other Tenneco locations,” Steven Blow, executive director of corporate communications at Tenneco, said.

The Montgomery County Auditor’s Office confirmed with News Center 7 Friday that property tax revenue will be unaffected with the closure. Those funds go to places like schools and also fund other levies that have passed in previous elections.

Kettering plans to work with Tenneco and other state and regional entities to explore all options regarding the future of Tenneco.

“Tenneco has indicated that this is not an issue with the local environment, rather a market/industry issue related to capacity,” said Schwieterman. “While having them reverse their decision is an optimum outcome - we need to also focus on the announced closure and assisting employees and families that will be impacted by the closure.”

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Gov. Mike DeWine said Thursday that JobsOhio and its partners are working to engage with Tenneco to explore solutions on how the company can succeed in Kettering.

“Ohio’s automotive workforce is second to none, and the Kettering facility lies within a day’s drive of 70 percent of current North American auto assembly plants,” DeWine said.

Blow said Tenneco’s decision is part of the company’s need to realign its manufacturing footprint to respond to changing market conditions and capacity requirements.

Employees News Center 7 spoke with said they were surprised by the announcement Thursday.

“We are in contract negotiations right now. So we didn’t know that they were going to announce any of this,” said employee Tyra Williams. “It’s kind of hard. It’s a lot of hurt.”

The Dayton Development Coalition, which is a leading local agency in recruiting, expanding and retaining jobs for the region, will be active in working toward the redevelopment of the site once it closes.

“A significant portion of that work is helping companies find locations that meet their needs,” said Julie Sullivan, vice president for regional development at DDC. “Having an additional heavy industrial building that will be available in our market is a great thing for us to be able to share as we’re going out and talking to site selection consultants, talking with companies with either sighting new facilities or expansion projects, I think it’ll be really valuable for us.”

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