(Van Wert, Ohio) - Kongsberg Automotive says it will restructure operations, a move that includes closing down the manufacturing plant here and transferring work to Mexico.
The company, a global supplier of automotive, commercial and industrial products, will put about 105 people out of work when it closes the Van Wert facility in the summer of 2009. The announcement is in addition to recently announced cut backs at the plant, formerly known as Teleflex.
Norwegian-based Kongsberg bought Teleflex last year. Shortly after the purchase, Kongsberg locked out Teleflex workers and moved a production line to Mexico, according to a news release by U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH). Brown, who contacted Kongsberg directly to call on them not to close the plant, has been working closely with workers as the situation unfolded.
“I am deeply disappointed by this decision,” Brown said. “For more than 40 years, Teleflex was an excellent corporate citizen of Ohio. This is a betrayal of generations of Van Wert workers who raised families on Teleflex salaries and who helped build the company and support the community. This also underscores the need to review the results of trade deals like NAFTA, and move our nation’s trade policies in a new direction.”
Production at the Haysville, Kansas facility will also be transferred to Mexico. The Haysville facility is also expected to close sometime in the summer of 2009, and effect about 100 workers.
"This restructuring is driven by the global automotive market collapse" said Olav Volldal, CEO of Kongsberg Automotive Holding ASA. "KA, like other automotive suppliers, has seen drastic volume reductions globally over the last few months, and the largest impact has so far been in North America. These cuts are necessary to align our manufacturing to the new market realities."
Kongsberg Automotive is based in Kongsberg, Norway and has more than 50 facilities in 20 countries on all continents. Kongsberg Automotive, with revenues of about EUR1 billion and over 9.500 employees, provides system solutions to vehicle makers around the world. The product portfolio includes gearshift systems, cables for a wide variety of applications, fuel lines, tubing and hoses, couplings, clutch actuation, stabilizing rods, seat heaters, seat ventilation, lumbar supports, head restrains, arm rests, steering columns, pedals, electronics and displays. Find more information about the company visit www.kongsbergautomotive.com.
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