Laid off from BorgWarner.

What BorgWarner layoffs have meant for employees

Whether a union contract covered the job has shaped what BorgWarner workers left with. Muncie's closing came with a shutdown agreement BorgWarner signed with the UAW, and a March 2009 8-K estimated about $34 million in cash to settle part of union retirees' health care obligations, on top of severance. In Lansing, New York, the company told Tompkins Weekly that its late-2024 layoffs complied with the Teamsters contract ratified that September, and the paper reported that laid-off workers would keep access to their health plan for two to six months, depending on seniority. Kokomo's workers had no union and, under BorgWarner's August 2023 notice, no bumping rights, so nobody there could move into a more junior colleague's job. The difference shows up in the details that follow a layoff, from how long health coverage runs to whether seniority counts. If a union contract covers your job, its layoff and benefits articles are worth reading closely, since that's where Lansing's continued benefits were set.

BorgWarner's long lead times came with a practical catch, because the dates and counts in a first announcement weren't final. Lansing's valvetrain closing was set for the fourth quarter of 2024 when The Ithaca Voice reported it in January 2023, and a September 2024 report from the same outlet put it in 2026. Kokomo's count went from 82 on the first notice to 93 and then 101 on amended ones in Indiana filings in our tracker, all for the same Morgan Street layoff. The Akasol layoffs were scheduled to begin about eight weeks after Automotive News reported the closings on February 19, 2025. If you get revised notices or letters about a layoff, keeping each dated version gives you a record of what was said when, which helps if a date, a count or a benefit changes before you leave.

The electrification businesses have left their own paper trail. Kokomo's plant made power electronics for hybrids, Inside Indiana Business reported, and the Akasol battery business behind the Hazel Park and Warren plants came with a 2021 purchase. BorgWarner decided in February 2025 to leave EV charging, as its 2025 10-K records, and its June 2026 quarterly report ties first-half 2025 termination benefits at U.S. and China sites to that exit and to consolidating its North American battery plants. For PowerDrive Systems, the same report gave 2027 as BorgWarner's expected completion year for the actions under the plan approved in June 2024. If you're in one of those units, it's worth knowing that the June 2026 report broke its restructuring charges out by segment and named no plant for the European battery initiative.

When BorgWarner explained the Kokomo and Lansing closings, it reached for company-wide language rather than reasons tied to either plant. For Kokomo a spokesperson cited market-driven adjustments to its cost structure in all major regions, according to Inside Indiana Business, while a spokesperson told the Ithaca Voice the Lansing closing came out of the same strategy. The help it described was just as broad, assistance in looking for new employment at Kokomo and a commitment to "the smoothest transition possible" at Lansing, so the concrete terms on record come from the union contracts, the notices and the filings.

For an unemployment claim, Indiana unemployment benefits, Michigan unemployment benefits and New York unemployment benefits cover the rules in the three states where these US plants are. Searching the tracker under BorgWarner, BorgWarner PDS and Akasol, Inc. turns up the Indiana and Michigan notices. For health insurance after a layoff, how COBRA works lays out when continued coverage is available and what it costs. If you're offered a package that comes with a release to sign, negotiating a severance agreement goes through what such agreements usually hold.

A sourced history of BorgWarner layoffs

• September 2025, Darmstadt and Langen cuts in Germany

  BorgWarner planned to cut 345 jobs at the two sites, Eurofound recorded, citing declining orders from Daimler Truck and Volvo. Bargaining with the works council and IG Metall later cut that to some 90 to 120 departures through a voluntary program.

• April 2025, Akasol battery plant layoffs near Detroit

  BorgWarner's Akasol battery plants in Hazel Park and Warren were set to close, Automotive News reported, with 188 layoffs scheduled from April 14 through July and none of the workers represented by a union.

• February 2025, exit from the EV charging business

  BorgWarner decided to leave EV charging, its 2025 10-K shows, and production stopped in the second quarter of 2025 as it sold its SSE unit and shut its other charging sites.

• November 2024, Lansing, New York, layoffs after a strike

  BorgWarner told workers and the Teamsters in late November, Tompkins Weekly reported, that it would lay off 30 by year's end, citing "decreases in customer orders," after about 50 layoffs since October by the union's count.

• August 2023, Kokomo Morgan Street plant closing

  BorgWarner's August 23 notice set a permanent layoff at the Morgan Street plant from October 22 to mid-2024, with no union or bumping rights, and the company, Inside Indiana Business reported, promised help finding new jobs.

• January 2023, Lansing, New York, valvetrain plant closing

  BorgWarner told employees it would fold valvetrain production on its Warren Road campus into another existing BorgWarner site and close a valvetrain technical center there, The Ithaca Voice reported, with part of the work going to Mexico.

• February 2007, Muncie drivetrain plant closing

  BorgWarner announced in an 8-K that it would close the Muncie plant by April 2009, when its labor agreement ran out, and move its programs to other plants. A UAW shutdown agreement, recorded in a later 8-K, followed in February 2009.

What to do if you're laid off from BorgWarner

• File for unemployment in the state where you worked. Benefits run from your filing date, and severance usually doesn't block you. BorgWarner's biggest hubs: Indiana, Michigan. Somewhere else? Every state is here.
• Apply for financial and hardship assistance. Unemployment supplements income, but food benefits, health coverage and utility help are often available as well. Here's some of what BorgWarner's hub states run: Indiana, Michigan, and every other state is here.
• Mind the health insurance window. Losing coverage opens a 60-day special enrollment period, and an ACA plan usually beats unsubsidized COBRA. Compare your options before the employer coverage lapses, and read how the COBRA clocks run if you are weighing it seriously.
• Get your real runway number. Severance plus savings divided by reality. The calculator takes five minutes.
• Know which clocks are already running. Severance review windows, COBRA election, visa grace periods, and 401(k) rollovers all run on federal deadlines that started at termination. All five deadlines are here.