International Motors is laying off 1,341 employees at two manufacturing facilities in Springfield, Ohio, as the company sells the operations to Canadian defense and commercial vehicle manufacturer Roshel.

The Lisle, Illinois-based truck manufacturer — formerly known as Navistar International Corporation and now a subsidiary of Germany's Traton Group — announced it has signed an asset purchase agreement under which Roshel will acquire the operating assets of the Springfield Assembly Plant and the Truck Specialty Center. Roshel, headquartered in Mississauga, Ontario, intends to convert the facilities into a U.S.-based production hub for commercial, specialty, and armored vehicles.

According to a WARN notice filed with the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, International expects the sale to close on Oct. 2. Under the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, employers with 100 or more workers must provide advance notice of mass layoffs, giving affected employees and state agencies time to prepare. Virtually all employees at both the Springfield Assembly Plant (SAP) and the Truck Specialty Center (TSC) will be terminated effective that date, with the exception of certain workers on approved leaves of absence.

The layoffs will affect approximately 1,314 employees at the Springfield Assembly Plant and 27 employees at the Truck Specialty Center. About 1,137 assembly plant workers and 21 Truck Specialty Center employees are represented by the United Auto Workers through Locals 402 and 658.

International Motors employs roughly 14,500 people worldwide and maintains a distribution network of approximately 1,000 dealer outlets across the United States, Canada, Brazil, and Mexico, along with over 60 dealers in 90 other countries.

The Springfield complex has a long history as an International truck assembly plant. In recent years, however, the facility has operated primarily as a contract manufacturing site under an agreement with a major automotive company. That contract is set to expire on Sept. 30, 2026, which prompted International to seek a buyer for the operation.

"With the end of our contract manufacturing agreement, we have been working diligently to find a suitable path for the Springfield Assembly Plant," said Samara Strycker, International's executive vice president and chief financial officer.

The Springfield manufacturing campus spans more than 2 million square feet across roughly 500 acres and includes a full vehicle assembly line and paint facility.

Roshel stated that it plans to leverage the site's existing manufacturing capabilities to expand production of commercial, specialty, and armored vehicles built on chassis supplied by multiple original equipment manufacturers. The acquisition reflects a broader trend of defense contractors and specialty vehicle manufacturers seeking established U.S. production footprints, driven in part by rising global demand for armored and tactical vehicles from military and law enforcement agencies.

Roshel has not publicly disclosed when it will begin operations in Springfield or whether current International employees will receive hiring preference.

The conversion of International's Springfield operations into a defense and specialty vehicle manufacturing hub underscores how North American manufacturing assets are being repurposed to serve evolving commercial and defense markets, even as more than 1,300 workers face displacement during the transition.

Source: FreightWaves