Grede LLC, headquartered in Southfield, Michigan, will close its iron foundry in Brewton, Alabama, according to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act notice the company filed April 1 with the Alabama Department of Commerce. The plant has been in operation since 1976 and produces safety-critical ductile iron castings primarily for the U.S. automotive market, the company says. 

At the end of February, Grede told the Brewton team of its intentions to cease all manufacturing operations at the foundry and reallocate its work to the company's other foundries. 

Grede says its Brewton team members have been offered the opportunity to transfer to another Grede location or a separation package to assist with their employment transition. 

The plant will begin winding down manufacturing operations by midyear, with all manufacturing to cease by the end of 2025, Grede says, affecting 160 workers, each of whom is represented by the United Steelworkers union. An additional 60 people who are third-party contractors will be affected, according to a statement Grede shared with Recycling Today.

In mid-2020, the company closed its foundry in Columbiana, Alabama, citing market conditions, including the COVID-19 pandemic, and their effect on the automotive sector for the closure.

Grede says its primary served markets have not rebounded to pre-COVID volumes, resulting in an availability of capacity across some of Grede’s U.S. foundries and the closure of the Brewton plant. "We are transferring work across our network of facilities to maximize utilization of assets and reduce inefficiencies," the company adds.

After manufacturing operations are idled, the Grede Brewton facility will remain open and potentailly used for other activities, including warehousing and R&D.

Grede, which is owned by New York City-based Gamut Capital Mangement, uses 92 percent U.S.-sourced postconsumer material in its production process, according to its 2024/2025 sustainability report.

Grede designs, engineers and manufactures ductile, gray and specialty iron castings for automotive, commercial and industrial markets. The company has eight other foundries in Biscoe, North Carolina; Browntown, Wisconsin; Iron Mountain, Michigan; Wauwatosa, Wisconsin; Meadville, Pennsylvania; New Castle, Indiana; Reedsburg, Wisconsin; and St. Cloud Minnesota, employing nearly 3,000 people and offering precision machining and finishing services and assembling diverse components into complete systems.