Freightliner to Cut Work Force at N.C. Plant

Freightliner Trucks plans to lay off about 1,500 workers at a North Carolina truck plant, the Charlotte Observer reported.

The cuts, which would affect more than half the facility’s work force, would take effect June 6, when operations are reduced from two shifts a day to one, the paper reported.

The plant, in Cleveland, N.C., is about 40 miles north of Charlotte. It employs about 2,900 workers and has seen production drop along with demand for new trucks in response to new diesel emissions standards that raised prices, the Observer said.

The move reflects not only the rise-and-fall nature of heavy-duty truck manufacturing but also the trickle-down effect of a slowdown in consumer spending and home construction, the paper reported.

Last year, Freightliner laid off workers at the plant, part of a reduction in its workforce at facilities in Oregon and North Carolina due to slower demand.

Freightliner is a unit of Daimler Trucks North America, part of Germany’s Daimler AG.