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First Brand Bankruptcy Fallout Leads to Jasper Rubber Closure
By the end of April, Jasper Rubber will be shutting its doors unless a buyer steps in.
On February 27, employees of Jasper Rubber received a letter from parent company First
Brands Group announcing the shuttering of the facility and termination of employment. The
entirety of the Jasper facilities will be affected, with permanent closures at 1010 West 1 st
Avenue, 1055 West 1 st Avenue, 1093 West 1 st Avenue, and 1011 West 1 st Avenue.
The letter was sent in accordance with the WARN Act (Worker Adjustment and Retraining
Notification) of 1988. Federal law requires the 60-day advance notice of job termination.
Closures are scheduled to commence on April 30, 2026, with employee terminations effective
as of that date. While the communication stated that it expects the facility’s shutdown to be
permanent, there is still a possibility that another entity could purchase First Brands’ holdings
and opt to keep the facility open. Recently, other First Brands locations have experienced
sudden closures and immediate terminations, prompting investigations into possible WARN
letter violations.
The WARN letter sent to Jasper Rubber employees clarified that bumping rights will not be in
effect. Common in unionized workplaces, bumping rights are based on seniority and are
designed to protect long-term employees from job loss during restructuring or downsizing. This
is a contractual privilege to safeguard senior staff whose jobs are eliminated by allowing them
to displace junior staff and take their position, resulting in the ultimate layoff of the least senior
employee. Since the expectation is for permanent closure, no bumping rights will be applicable.
First Brands filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in September 2025. The entity was one of the
world’s largest auto parts suppliers. Former founder and CEO Patrick James and his brother,
former senior executive Edward James, were both indicted on charges of conspiracy to commit
money laundering, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and multiple charges of bank and wire
fraud. The disgraced executives are said to have defrauded lenders by concealing liabilities,
falsifying financial statements, and double- and triple-pledging loan collateral. According to the
Department of Justice, old loans were paid with new loan funds, with only $12 million in
corporate bank accounts and over $9 billion in liabilities.
The company, as debtor in possession and under new management, has also filed a lawsuit
against Patrick James and his related entities. The complaint alleges that James “fraudulently
secured billions of dollars of financing for First Brands, only to turn around and enrich himself
and his family by misappropriating hundreds of millions (if not billions) of dollars from First
Brands, which contributed to First Brands being insolvent and out of cash.”
WITZ will keep you updated as this story develops, and is currently seeking further comment
from corporate and government sources.
For more information on these and other updates, visit www.witzamfm.com/news
- Drew Hasselbring