Honeywell eliminating 212 positions in closure of Coon Rapids plant

Honeywell International will eliminate 212 positions when it closes its Coon Rapids plant later this year.

The plant's operations will be consolidated into other U.S. operations, the company said.

Honeywell told employees of the closure in February 2019.

The company informed the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development this month that the positions would be eliminated between Aug. 7-21.

Layoffs will be fewer than 212, because since the announcement some employees have retired, transferred or found positions elsewhere, spokesman Scott Sayres said.

Sayres did not have a specific number of employees still at the plant, but said it was fewer than 200.

"We announced this decision in February 2019 to provide employees ample time to prepare," he said. "Since then, we've encouraged employees to apply for other Honeywell positions and all eligible affected employees are being offered severance and outplacement assistance."

The decision to close the plant is not related to the coronavirus pandemic. Sayres said the lease for the Coon Rapids building on Evergreen Boulevard is set to expire later this year.

"We are streamlining operations and are planning to close the site. Production will move to other U.S. locations and some engineering work will transfer to a nearby facility," Sayres said. "This is not a decision we made lightly as we realize this, unfortunately, affects valued employees."

The Coon Rapids location primarily makes sensors used in GPS devices for the aerospace industry.

Honeywell, based in Charlotte, N.C., is a technology and manufacturing company with more than 113,000 employees and $36.7 billion in annual revenue.

It was headquartered in Minnesota until a merger in 1999 with Allied Signal. It still has operations in Minneapolis, Plymouth and Golden Valley.

Patrick Kennedy • 612-673-7926