Jasper Rubber Products Faces Closure, 345 Jobs at Risk by April 30

Jasper Rubber Products is set to permanently close by the end of April unless a buyer steps forward. On February 27, the plant's 345 employees received a WARN Act notice from parent company First Brands Group announcing the shutdown of all Jasper facilities on West 1st Avenue, with closures commencing April 30, 2026.

First Brands Group, once one of the world's largest auto parts suppliers, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy with over $9 billion in liabilities in September 2025. Founder Patrick James stepped down as CEO two weeks after the filing, but not before allegedly transferring hundreds of millions of dollars to himself. He and his brother Edward James, a former senior executive, were subsequently indicted on charges of conspiracy to commit money laundering, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and multiple counts of bank fraud and wire fraud.

Federal prosecutors allege that from at least 2018 through 2025, the brothers built and then bankrupted the company through a series of coordinated fraud schemes, including submitting fake or inflated invoices, double- and triple-pledging collateral, falsifying corporate financial statements, and concealing significant liabilities from lenders. At the time of its bankruptcy filing, First Brands had just $12 million in cash in its corporate bank accounts against more than $9 billion in liabilities.

Jasper Rubber Products was originally founded in 1949 in Jasper, Indiana as a locally-owned manufacturing company before being acquired by First Brands in 2024. Jasper Mayor Dean Vonderheide told the Dubois County Free Press the situation captures exactly the risk that comes with that kind of ownership change. "This is the concern you have when a privately held company — or in this case, an ESOP — sells to a larger organization and loses control locally," Vonderheide said. "When you lose control locally, you cannot predict your future."

Despite the WARN notice, a buyer could still step in and opt to keep the facility operating, and that hope remains alive among workers and city officials alike. "Another buyer could still swoop in, but it's uncertain," Vonderheide said. He acknowledged broader economic headwinds are complicating any potential deal. "A lot of industries are slow right now. Tariffs have impacted them. We'll just have to play it out."

The collapse of First Brands and its subsidiaries' failures to find buyers has already led to closures at Toledo Molding and Die in Fayetteville, Tennessee, resulting in 333 layoffs, and in Bowling Green, Tennessee, laying off 302 more; at Champion Labs in Albion, Illinois, which laid off 642; Eagle Machining in Fayette, Ohio, claiming 246 layoffs; and at Hopkins Manufacturing, laying off more than a hundred workers. Carter Fuel Systems in Logansport, another Indiana manufacturer under the First Brands umbrella, faces the same April 30 deadline, with 38 employees at risk if no buyer materializes.

WorkOne Southwest will be providing information on upcoming job fair opportunities in response to the closure. Director Sara Worstell said the organization also plans to reach out to the company to set up times to meet with employees to assist with their employment needs. "We try to work with employees to move them into comparable employment with comparable skill levels and wages," Worstell explained. WorkOne maintains an office at Vincennes University Jasper, 850 College Avenue, and can be reached at 812-634-1599.

Patrick and Edward James are expected to appear in Manhattan federal court, where they were indicted. For the 345 workers on West 1st Avenue, the question of whether a buyer emerges in the next five weeks will determine whether Jasper loses one of its oldest manufacturing employers.