About 150 people will be out of work when Briskin Manufacturing, a heavy truck parts manufacturer, shuts down its Lebanon, Tenn., plant next month.

According to Associated Press reports, the company added 25,000 square feet of manufacturing space and about 50 jobs at the plant earlier this year, but slow truck sales led to the turnaround. Peterbilt, one of Briskin’s major customers, has laid off hundreds of people at its nearby Nashville-area plant. (See "Peterbilt Cuts Production," Aug. 1, 2000.)
"Business had turned soft at this location," said Pat Lyle, executive director of the Joint Economic and Community Development Board of Wilson County. Briskin plans to consolidate production into its Chicago plant.