TMSI Logistics is closing a distribution center in Mascot, Tennessee, after GE ended its contract with the company.  According to TMSI, GE canceled the contract due to transportation costs and service time reduction to its customers.  The closure of the facility will lead to layoffs for 200 employees.

TMSI has operated the facility as a GE distribution center since 1995.  At the beginning of this year the Teamsters union, which represents roughly 90% of the employees at the center, signed an agreement stipulating there would be no pay raises for three years in an effort to keep GE in Mascot.  The latest announcement came as a surprise to the union, who had no forewarning.