As New Truck Market Shrinks, Ranks of Idled Workers Grow
Shrinking demand for new heavy-duty trucks will claim the jobs of an estimated 500 employees who will be idled at Kenworth Truck Co.’s Chillicothe, Ohio, plant in September. It also is forcing Mack Trucks to ordain a “down week” at three plants in early October.
The plant also will be closed for two weeks, starting Aug. 29, to prepare for the layoffs.
For the full story, see the Aug. 28 print edition of Transport Topics. Subscribe today.
The Kenworth action pushes the total number of layoffs and job eliminations among U.S. truck manufacturers above 8,000, erasing, to a large degree, the employment “ramp-up” seen in 1998 and 1999 when manufacturers scrambled to produce record numbers of vehicles.
The Kenworth layoffs will be accomplished by eliminating the second shift at the plant after Sept. 18, according to press reports confirmed by a spokesman for Paccar, Kenworth’s parent company.
 |  |
