LANSING, N.Y.—Part of the BorgWarner campus in Lansing will not close as soon as had been previously thought.
In January, the company, which is the largest local manufacturer, a primary job provider and one of the longest-tenured names in the Tompkins County business landscape, began telling employees that it was closing one of its divisions in Lansing and cutting around 300 jobs.
However, according to an op-ed distributed to local news outlets from Tompkins Chamber CEO Jennifer Tavares, the company has decided to push closing until 2026, shifting gears from its previously scheduled closing in late 2024.
Tavares penned the op-ed to dispel “rumors and inaccurate information shared throughout our community” regarding thought that the company was leaving the area entirely or that all of the 1,500 or so local employees of BorgWarner would be getting laid off, neither of which are true.
A BorgWarner spokesperson had not answered a request for comment in time for publication.
“BorgWarner plans to maintain their long term, permanent position in the community,” Tavares wrote. “There are no plans to close all their Warren Road facilities; rather, only one division of their local operations is impacted by recent announcements. The timeline for this change has already shifted to be more favorable, with BorgWarner planning to retain production at the affected facility for 1.5 years longer than originally planned—until 2026 instead of 2024.”
Tavares then stated that “over 70 percent of existing employment level will be retained,” and that “most position changes are taking place through routine attrition.” That does, however, indicate that around a quarter of the company’s local jobs will be disappearing. She adds that the company is hiring and hopes to conclude this period of change with around 700 employees locally, though that would represent a significant reduction from its current number of local employees. BorgWarner is currently listed as employing about 1,000 people locally, while they had previously been listed as employing about 1,500 people locally earlier this year, when the announcement of closing one of the Lansing plant locations was first made.
Still, Tavares wrote, the company is hiring for both hourly and salaried positions currently, and has agreed to maintain production at Ithaca facilities of products aimed at electrification, instead of converting those to the Mexico facilities that were poised to receive those manufacturing assignments.
“BorgWarner has been one of our largest employers and community partners for many decades and will continue to be in the future,” Tavares wrote. “The economic impact from this business on our local and regional economy is significant. If you hear incorrect information being shared, I hope you will assist me in dispelling the
myths, reinforce the message that BorgWarner is not going anywhere.”