The companies which have acted as suppliers for Chrysler are starting to feel the crunch as some of them are now closing down. Cummins Inc. today announced a number of job actions affecting its manufacturing operations in Southern Indiana. The Company is temporarily closing the Columbus MidRange Engine Plant (CMEP) in Walesboro, just outside Columbus, as a result of Chrysler’s decision last week to idle its manufacturing operations while it undergoes bankruptcy reorganization.
CMEP is the sole manufacturing site for the 6.7-liter turbo diesel engine used in the heavy-duty Dodge Ram pickup truck. The plant will close effective May 15 and be down until Chrysler resumes pickup truck production.
Chrysler’s Dodge Ram manufacturing plant in Saltillo, Mexico, which closed Monday, is expected to be idle for at least four weeks and Chrysler has indicated that its entire manufacturing operation could remain closed for nine weeks or longer.
The shutdown affects a total of approximately 690 workers at CMEP. Cummins will layoff approximately 610 hourly workers – 560 members of the Diesel Workers Union and 50 members of the Office Committee Union. The Company plans to redeploy as many of the 80 exempt employees in the plant as possible throughout its Southern Indiana operations.
These job reductions are in response to further weakening demand for engines and components as a result of the global recession, and are consistent with our efforts to align manufacturing capacity and costs with that lower demand.
(Source) Press
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