The document landed quietly on a state bureaucrat’s desk on November 14, but its impact will echo through Knox County for years. A Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification—the dreaded WARN notice that no employee wants to see—confirmed what workers at 2820 Media Drive had been whispering about for weeks.
A major manufacturer was pulling the plug on its Knoxville plant, and 132 people were about to lose the jobs that paid their mortgages, fed their kids, and defined their daily routines.
Eighteen-Month Countdown Begins
Here’s what made the announcement even more unsettling: the shutdown wouldn’t be swift. Instead, workers face an agonizing countdown stretching from June 2026 through December 2027—eighteen months of wondering when their number will be called.
No collective bargaining to fight it. No bumping rights to claim someone else’s position. Just a slow-motion unraveling of a significant Knox County manufacturing operation.
Products in Your Bathroom Cabinet
Walk into any American bathroom and you’ll likely find their work: razors that glide across morning stubble, sunscreen protecting kids at summer pools, and grooming products lining medicine cabinets.
For decades, the hands assembling these everyday essentials belonged to Knoxville workers—people who took pride in manufacturing products that millions of Americans used without a second thought. Now that the chapter is coming to an end, the East Knoxville facility is closing its doors.
A Broader Strategic Business Decision
The corporation calls the closure part of “a broader strategic business decision”—corporate speak that reveals nothing while sounding important. Workers want to know: where are these jobs going? Overseas to cheaper labor markets? Another U.S. facility?
The company has not publicly disclosed the destination of its production operations, leaving workers and community leaders to speculate about where manufacturing will be relocated.
Dual Plant Closures
Edgewell Personal Care is simultaneously shuttering an even larger facility in Milford, Connecticut, eliminating 293 jobs there on the same timeline. Two plants, with a total of 425 workers, will close in coordinated phases through December 2027.
The pattern reflects a broader strategic restructuring as the company navigates challenging market conditions and declining sales in North America.
Human Cost of Manufacturing Loss
Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs responded to the closure announcement with a statement acknowledging the impact on local families. According to WVLT News coverage, Jacobs emphasized that these are people “who live here, get their services here, and buy and shop here,” and noted that workers are focused on taking care of themselves and their families.
Despite the job losses, the mayor’s office noted that Knox County maintains a strong local economy.
Nobody Knows Who Gets Cut First
Which departments will vanish in June 2026? Who survives until the bitter end in December 2027? Edgewell hasn’t publicly disclosed the phasing details, leaving every single worker wondering if they should start job hunting now or wait.
Should families stay put or relocate while there’s time? It’s the uncertainty that weighs heavily—not just losing a job, but losing it in slow motion while watching the operation wind down over eighteen months.
Supporting Displaced Workers
The East Tennessee Human Resources Agency’s rapid response team has been notified to coordinate services with Edgewell and affected employees, as per the state’s WARN filing. The East Tennessee Workforce Development Board will oversee and provide continued follow-up for rapid response and dislocated worker services.
These services typically include career counseling, job search assistance, and connections to retraining programs for manufacturing employees transitioning to new industries.
Career Transition Support
Edgewell has stated it will provide support services to affected workers during the transition period. In its Connecticut closure announcement, the company outlined plans to offer career counseling, resume preparation assistance, interview coaching, and tuition reimbursement programs.
Severance packages and outplacement assistance are also being offered, though Edgewell has not publicly disclosed specific details for the Knoxville facility.
Wages Average $24.83 Per Hour in 2025
Manufacturing workers in Tennessee earned an average of $24.83 per hour as of August 2025, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data. Production employees in the manufacturing sector have seen modest wage growth of approximately 2 percent year-over-year.
Based on standard full-time hours, this translates to an annual salary of approximately $51,650 before overtime or benefits.
$6.8 Million Annual Payroll Disappears
For 132 workers earning Tennessee’s average manufacturing wage, the closure represents an estimated $6.8 million in annual payroll that will be removed from the Knox County economy.
That figure doesn’t account for benefits, overtime, or the multiplier effect as workers spend wages at local restaurants, retail stores, and service providers throughout the community.
Knoxville Manufacturing Employment Decline
Knoxville MSA manufacturing employment reached 47,000 jobs in 2023 before declining to 45,600 in 2024 and 45,300 by August 2025—a drop of 1,700 jobs from the peak. While current levels remain well above the pandemic-era low of 40,900 jobs in 2020, the recent downward trend reflects ongoing challenges in the sector.
The Edgewell closure will further reduce manufacturing employment when layoffs are expected to begin in mid-2026.
Sale of Feminine Care Division
The Knoxville plant closure occurs against the backdrop of significant corporate restructuring at Edgewell. On November 13, 2025, the company announced that it had agreed to sell its feminine care business, including the Playtex, Stayfree, Carefree, and o.b. brands, to Swedish hygiene products maker Essity AB for $340 million in cash.
The sale is expected to close in early 2026 pending regulatory approvals.
Fourth Quarter Loss Despite Rising Sales
Edgewell reported a fourth-quarter fiscal 2025 loss driven largely by a non-cash impairment charge related to the feminine care division it is selling. When adjusted for one-time charges, earnings were $0.68 per share, according to the company’s financial reports released on November 12, 2025.
Despite quarterly challenges, sales rose 3.8 percent to $537.2 million. However, executives acknowledged that results were pressured by uneven consumer demand and lower gross margins.
Multiple Manufacturing Job Losses
The Edgewell closure adds to a series of manufacturing job losses Knox County has experienced in recent years. State WARN notice records indicate that EXEDY America Corporation eliminated 223 jobs in August 2024, while Technical Response, Inc. laid off 115 workers in August 2024 and an additional 90 workers in November 2024.
Red Stag Fulfillment also eliminated 185 positions after filing a WARN notice in July 2023, with closures occurring in early 2024.
Knox County Economy Remains Strong
Despite the Edgewell closure and other manufacturing job losses, Knox County’s overall economy has demonstrated resilience. The unemployment rate stood at 3.2 percent in August 2025, significantly below the national average of 4.0 percent, indicating a tight labor market where most job seekers can find employment.
As of August 2025, total employment in Knox County stood at 450,465 persons, reflecting continued economic strength.
New Manufacturing Investments
While Edgewell’s closure represents a significant loss, Knox County has also attracted new manufacturing investments. In November 2025, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee and state officials announced that Aqua Membranes will establish its first Tennessee manufacturing facility in Knox County’s Forks of the River Valley Industrial Park.
The water treatment technology company plans to create 94 new jobs and invest $6.6 million in the facility.
Federal WARN Act Provides Legal Protections
The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act of 1988 requires employers with 100 or more employees to provide 60 calendar days’ advance written notice before plant closings or mass layoffs. Edgewell’s 18-month notification window far exceeds this minimum requirement.
Workers laid off under circumstances where employers fail to provide adequate WARN notice may be entitled to back pay and benefits for up to 60 days under federal law.
Effects Extend Beyond Direct Job Losses
Manufacturing jobs typically generate multiplier effects in local economies as workers spend wages and factories purchase supplies and services. Economic research indicates that manufacturing jobs support additional employment in supplier firms, logistics, business services, and consumer industries.
Studies suggest that multipliers range from 1.6 to 2.5 additional jobs for each manufacturing position, meaning that the loss of 132 manufacturing jobs could affect additional employment across Knox County’s economy.
Families Navigate Uncertain Transition
For the 132 workers and their families, the announcement marks the beginning of a period of prolonged uncertainty as they await to learn when their specific positions will be eliminated within the 18-month closure window. Many workers face difficult decisions about whether to immediately seek new employment or remain with Edgewell to receive promised transition services and potential severance benefits.
Families with mortgages, children in local schools, and deep community roots face particularly challenging choices about their futures in the coming months.