Briggs and Stratton to Shift Production to Murray Plant

By Seth Helton

Murray, KY – Engine manufacturer Briggs and Stratton will shift production from a Czech Republic plant to its Murray facility, but it likely won't materialize into any more jobs. The company plans to close the Czech facility in March citing a decrease in demand. Briggs and Stratton officials say the Murray facility which added approximately 400 employees in 2011 has the capacity to take on the production load from the overseas plant without adding new jobs. Briggs and Stratton also announced the closure of a Northwest TN plant in Newbern, shifting that workload to a Georgia plant. That closure will layoff nearly 700 temporary and regular employees.