Black Business Boom CEO explains challenges facing women entrepreneurs
Danielle McGee Gibson, advocacy chair for NAWBO Nashville chapter and founder/CEO of Black Business Boom, talked about entrepreneurship (Episode 450).
Home Depot distributor and subsidiary HD Supply plans to shutter its Middle Tennessee facility in 2026, adding to the list of significant closures in the area since the start of 2025.
HD Supply filed its Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) with the Tennessee Department of Labor on Oct. 27, notifying the state that it will permanently close its plant off of Antioch Pike by Jan. 9, 2026.
As a result, 108 employees will be laid off.
“HD Supply continues to improve its leading maintenance, repair and operations distribution business,” an HD Supply spokesperson said in a statement. “As part of that journey, we’ve made several strategic decisions around our network strategy and have made the decision to consolidate our La Vergne Distribution Center into another facility in La Vergne.”
The facility is located just outside of La Vergne city limits in Davidson County.
The company said it is “actively supporting affected associates” and offering some other positions within HD Supply.
This is the third major business closure and fifth layoff announced in the immediate area this year, according to the Tennessee Department of Labor. In total, 639 employees have been laid off across Rutherford County, and 1,164 employees have been laid off in Davidson County, Department of Labor records show. Those numbers don’t include layoffs that were too small to warrant a WARN alert.
What other companies laid off workers in and around La Vergne?
La Vergne’s first significant closure in 2025 was Bridgestone Americas, which announced in January that it planned to close its 150-acre tire plant. Consequently, 700 workers lost their jobs. Local leadership including La Vergne Mayor Jason Cole, Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell and Rutherford County Chamber of Commerce President Paul Latture mourned the loss of those jobs.
“It’s a tough day when an announcement like that gets made,” Latture said.
Then came the Saks Global fulfillment center, which supplies luxury department retailer Saks Fifth Avenue. On April 17, the company released its plans to close for good and lay off 446 employees. The news came two months after Saks laid off a round of corporate employees in February.
Other Rutherford County layoffs this year have included Smyrna logistics firm WWL Vehicle Services Americas, Inc., Murfreesboro freight company Quickway Transportation. Those companies laid off a combined total of 95 employees.
La Vergne Mayor Jason Cole pointed out HD Supply is not technically in La Vergne, and the city is continuing to grow.
“Even when we’ve had a few companies that have closed shop or relocated, we still have companies coming to La Vergne offering residents opportunities to start a career and further their life,” Cole said. “They like the business friendly atmsosphere of La Vergne, and that’s what we try to do.”
The mayor mentioned that his city the past couple of years has attracted EFP, a Best Buy warehouse, a Matco Tools warehouse, Rentex Audio, Visual and Computers and more. Also, The Tennessee Farmers Co-op in La Vergne will soon be adding a million square feet to its presence, Mayor Cole said.
How does Tennessee track statewide layoffs?
State and federal laws offer safeguards for employees and their families by requiring companies to provide notice 60 days in advance of plant closings, mass layoffs and the sale of a business.
The federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act applies to companies with 100 or more employees, and the Tennessee law applies to companies that employ 50-99 people.
The Tennessee Department of Labor keeps track of all mass layoffs — defined either as 50 or more full-time employees if they make up at least one third of total employees or 500 or more full-time employees.
Hadley Hitson covers business news for The Tennessean. She can be reached at hhitson@gannett.com. To support her work, subscribe to The Tennessean.
