Sterling to Cut Shift, Lay Off 720 Workers at Ontario Plant

Sterling Trucks plans to eliminate one of two shifts and lay off 720 workers in Ontario in November, the Canadian Press reported Thursday.

The St. Thomas, Ontario, plant turns out 76 to 80 trucks a day and will produce about half that with the planned cutback, a CAW official told Transport Topics.

Sterling eliminated a third shift late last year, laying off 600 workers, the official said.

The plant makes everything from delivery trucks, cement mixers and garbage trucks to Class 8 over-the-road trucks, CP reported.

Sterling is a unit of Daimler Truck North America, which is also the parent company of Freightliner and Western Star truck-making units.

Staff Reporter Frederick Kiel contributed to this story.