Navistar Cutting 275 Workers at Miss. Military Truck Plant

Navistar International Corp., the largest maker of blast-proof trucks for the U.S. military, will lay off 275 workers at a Mississippi plant because of declining production of the vehicles, Bloomberg reported Monday.

The reductions leave the plant in West Point, Miss., with 200 workers, Bloomberg reported, citing a Navistar spokeswoman.

Navistar lost out on a $1.06 billion contract with the U.S. Defense Department last month to build all-terrain trucks that would protect troops in Afghanistan from roadside bombs, to Oshkosh Corp., which received that order.

The West Point plant recently began production of armored combat vehicles for U.K. military use in Afghanistan, Bloomberg reported.

Navistar in April withdrew a short-lived protest against military procurement procedures.