Local Data
Location & Expansion Log
Diverse companies – from startups to multinational corporations – continue to relocate and expand existing operations in the Charleston region.
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Downsizing
2019
WestRock Co.
September 9, 2019
Paper mill
WestRock Co. plans to reconfigure its North Charleston paper mill, reducing the company’s operating costs and cutting about 260 jobs early next year (2020). Company officials say the actions taken at the North Charleston mill will substantially improve the long-term competitiveness of the mill by reducing ongoing operating costs and capital needs and by focusing more than half of the mill’s production on the high-value, differentiated DuraSorb and KraftPak products. This move will help balance the firm's supply with customer demand corporate-wide, they explained.
Gear Design & Manfacturing, AAM Charleston
August 1, 2019
Manufacturer of vehicle transmission assemblies
AAM (American Axle) is closing its Leeds Avenue site as part of a company-wide restructuring, with 85 positions affected. Jobs will be eliminated in phases beginning Aug. 1, with the last wave of employees leaving the plant by May 2020. The Detroit-based company is consolidating its powertrain business into its driveline and metal forming units, affecting two dozen plants, including the North Charleston site.
Lowe's Companies, Inc.
March 25, 2019
Cross-dock terminal
In a corporate re-structuring, Lowe's Companies Inc. is changing its distribution strategy locally, ending operations at a Charleston area cross-dock terminal facility which manages the logistics for appliance delivery in the region. Products are brought from a distribution center in Greensboro, N.C., to the Charleston cross-dock for bulk unloading of appliances to specific delivery trucks. Plans are to transition this work to a third-party provider, affecting 80 local positions. Similar restructuring occurred corporate-wide as the company also transferred more positions to its corporate headquarters in North Carolina. All local Lowe's retail stores remain open.
Thesys CAT, LLC
March 2, 2019
Software/IT
41 local IT positions were affected in this downsizing as a big data project, the Consolidated Audit Trail, is transitioned to a different contractor.
