johnnymk
05-15-2007, 11:39 AM
Another brainy decision by the Feds to reduce emissions and up the cost of diesel engines so that truckers can no longer afford new trucks.
http://portland.bizjournals.com/portland/stories/2007/05/14/daily14.html
Freightliner LLC plans to eliminate as many as 1,528 jobs at its truck-assembly plant in Rowan County, N.C., an official at the North Carolina Department of Commerce confirms.
The company will slash its work force in July if it does not receive new production orders by June 10, said Greg Thomas, public information officer for the Commerce Department.
Portland-based Freightliner officials were unavailable for comment Tuesday morning.
The cutback is in addition to March layoffs that affected 1,180 workers at Freightliner's 4,000-employee truck-assembly plant in the Rowan County town of Cleveland.
The company said truck orders had dropped dramatically after the imposition of federal diesel-emissions standards and price increases for technology needed to deal with those changes.
Any rehiring of those laid-off employees would depend on recovery of the truck market, Freightliner said in announcing those cutbacks.
The situation is in marked contrast to a couple of years ago, when a rising U.S. economy and a steady increase in the amount of freight being hauled fueled a manufacturing surge at Freightliner.
In 2004, the company added about 1,000 workers to its three plants in the Charlotte region, bringing its area employment to almost 5,600. Along with its Cleveland plant, Freightliner has North Carolina operations in Gastonia and Mount Holly.
Freightliner is owned by DaimlerChrysler AG, which is selling its interest in Chrysler for $7.4 billion to Cerberus Capital Management, a New York-based private-equity group.
http://portland.bizjournals.com/portland/stories/2007/05/14/daily14.html
Freightliner LLC plans to eliminate as many as 1,528 jobs at its truck-assembly plant in Rowan County, N.C., an official at the North Carolina Department of Commerce confirms.
The company will slash its work force in July if it does not receive new production orders by June 10, said Greg Thomas, public information officer for the Commerce Department.
Portland-based Freightliner officials were unavailable for comment Tuesday morning.
The cutback is in addition to March layoffs that affected 1,180 workers at Freightliner's 4,000-employee truck-assembly plant in the Rowan County town of Cleveland.
The company said truck orders had dropped dramatically after the imposition of federal diesel-emissions standards and price increases for technology needed to deal with those changes.
Any rehiring of those laid-off employees would depend on recovery of the truck market, Freightliner said in announcing those cutbacks.
The situation is in marked contrast to a couple of years ago, when a rising U.S. economy and a steady increase in the amount of freight being hauled fueled a manufacturing surge at Freightliner.
In 2004, the company added about 1,000 workers to its three plants in the Charlotte region, bringing its area employment to almost 5,600. Along with its Cleveland plant, Freightliner has North Carolina operations in Gastonia and Mount Holly.
Freightliner is owned by DaimlerChrysler AG, which is selling its interest in Chrysler for $7.4 billion to Cerberus Capital Management, a New York-based private-equity group.