The Graco plant in Macedonia that assembles infant and child car seats ended production on Thursday.
Owner Newell Rubbermaid said this summer that it planned to shutter the facility by the end of the year and move production to an Asian factory.
The company said previously that layoffs of 153 employees at the Valley View Road facility would begin Aug. 20 through the end of the year.
Newell spokeswoman Connie Bryant said there were 22 production employees whose last day was Thursday.
About 32 employees who work in distribution, office and what is called the crash lab will remain on site until the end of the month, said Bryant. Two employees will stay on until February and four crash lab employees will transfer to Atlanta, she said.
Newell Rubbermaid last year moved its injection mold work from the Macedonia facility to a plant it owns on Gilchrist Road in Mogadore. That plant, which makes Rubbermaid plastic food storage products, employs about 800 people. The move from Macedonia resulted in the layoff of as many as 135 people.
Bryant said there were no transfers from the Macedonia plant to Mogadore, but a handful of people applied for positions in Mogadore and got them.
When the Macedonia facility closes at the end of the year, Newell will employ 1,400 in Ohio, including about 1,000 in Wooster, Mogadore and Fairlawn (with customer service, finance and engineering).
The building in Macedonia is owned by Newell and the company will seek to find a suitable buyer, said Bryant.
Betty Lin-Fisher can be reached at 330-996-3724 or blinfisher@thebeaconjournal.com.
