Gibson to move guitar production to Nashville

Several employees will have option to relocate

Gibson will move its Memphis guitar production to its Nashville factory by April, the company confirmed Monday.

“After thorough evaluation and amid the previously disclosed April 2019 expiration of our Memphis lease, we have determined that integrating the company’s Memphis operations with our Gibson USA and Gibson Custom facilities in Nashville, where Gibson is headquartered, is the right next step for our business,” the company said in a statement.

The Memphis factory employs about 65 people. Several employees will have the opportunity to relocate to Nashville to continue to work for Gibson, the company said.

“Our goal over the next several months is to support our employees and allow our business to have the appropriate time to manage this transition accordingly,” Gibson officials added.

Gibson sold the Gibson Guitar Factory building in Downtown Memphis last December to Somera Road, a New York-based investment company. FedEx considered taking over the space to move its subsidiary FedEx Trade Networks to Downtown but last week announced that it was no longer considering the building.

It’s not clear what will eventually take the space, but Somera Road receives “a consistent flow of interest from office, hotel, and retail uses” for the building, the company said in a statement last week.

In addition to the Nashville factory, which makes solid electric guitars, Gibson also has a factory in Bozeman, Montana, where its acoustic guitars are produced.

Desiree Stennett can be reached at desiree.stennett@commercialappeal. com, 901-529-2738 or on Twitter: @desi_stennett.