By Seth Clevenger, Staff Reporter This story appears in the Feb. 4 print edition of Transport Topics.
Daimler Trucks North America said it may lay off as many as 1,300 factory workers over the next few months across its facilities.
Also last week, Volvo Trucks and Mack Trucks confirmed they had gone ahead with staffing cuts.
DTNA’s “action was taken due to the present softening of economic conditions that has adversely impacted the entire North American commercial vehicle industry and, if implemented, will synchronize current production rates to incoming orders,” Daimler spokesman David Giroux said in a statement.
Giroux said DTNA will make a decision after other options, such as shut-down days, are exhausted.
According to notices listed on North Carolina’s Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification website, 715 of the job cuts would be at the Freightliner plant in Cleveland, 405 at the Mount Holly Freightliner plant and 80 at the Gastonia components and logistics facility.
The notices list the job cuts as “temporary layoffs,” with an effective date of April 1.
In January 2012, DTNA added a second shift and 1,200 new jobs at the Freightliner plant in Cleveland and 100 more at the facility in Gastonia.
By December, DTNA announced a $120 million investment to start two new assembly lines for transmissions and turbochargers at its Detroit brand engine plant in Redford, Mich. The company said it would add 115 jobs.
DTNA, headquartered in Portland, Ore., employs about 20,000 people and operates facilities in Michigan, North Carolina, Oregon, South Carolina and Mexico.
Meanwhile, Volvo said it implemented a layoff in January affecting about 300 employees at its New River Valley assembly plant in Dublin, Va.
“We very much regret having to take this action, which is driven by the well-publicized decline in industry orders,” said spokesman Brandon Borgna. “Continued economic concerns and sluggish job growth have impacted orders as customers delay purchasing decisions.”
Sister company Mack said it is reducing employment and production at its Macungie, Pa., plant “as a result of an industrywide slowdown in orders.”
Layoffs affecting about 175 employees started on Jan. 18.
“We are focused on ensuring that we remain competitive as well as a strong employer,” said Mack spokeswoman Kimberly Pupillo.
Navistar Inc., which makes International brand trucks, is not planning any staffing changes, said spokeswoman Elissa Koc.
In October, the company said it would close its Garland, Texas, plant to cut costs. Koc said the plant should cease operations prior to the second half of 2013.
