Defense contractor to lay off 127 workers in Hardeman County

A defense contractor will lay off 127 workers at its Hardeman County manufacturing plant by the end of October, according to a notice filed with Tennessee’s department of labor Wednesday.

Kilgore Flares Company manufactures infrared decoy flares — a defense countermeasure used to deflect heat-seeking missiles from targets — at its facility in Toone, an unincorporated Southwest Tennessee town home to less than 300 people.

The facility’s employees are not represented by a collective bargaining agreement, and the Southwest Local Workforce Development Area rapid response team will coordinate services for affected employees, according to the notice.

The company employed 308 people at the plant as of February 2021, according to a report submitted to the state.

Hardeman County Mayor Todd Pulse stated Thursday that he has been in “constant contact” with state and local representatives along with Kilgore Flares Company’s human relations department.

“The layoff notice was given because of contracts,” Pulse wrote in a social media post, clarifying that the plant is not closing. 

“This is an extremely difficult time for our employees and their families, our community and the county,” Pulse wrote. “I ask that we pray for them during this time and come together for support.”

Kilgore Flares Co. is part of British defense technology company Chemring Group. The company is one of three major industrial plants in Hardeman County, a rural county with a population of around 25,500 according to the 2020 U.S. Census.

Kilgore Flares Co. invested $40 million to expand the facility in 2018, receiving a $2 million grant from the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development to create 97 jobs.

Kilgore Flares Co. has operated in Hardeman County since 1960.