DTNA to cut U.S. Workforce by 1,240

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Transport Topics  /  June 6, 2016

Daimler Trucks North America (DTNA) announced plans June 6 to reduce its North American manufacturing workforce by about 1,240 positions.

“DTNA’s workforce adjustments are in response to a sustained reduction in orders and a diminished build rate and are expected to be temporary,” the company said.

The Portland, Oregon-based U.S. subsidiary of Germany’s Daimler AG said the reductions include about 600 workers at its facility in Mount Holly, North Carolina; 270 workers in Santiago, Mexico; 200 at its components and logistics facility in Gastonia, North Carolina; and 170 workers at the Western Star plant in Portland.

DTNA also said there no plans currently to reduce the workforce at facilities in Cleveland, North Carolina, or Saltillo, Mexico.

Last month, Daimler said it was lowering its outlook for overall North America Classes 6-8 truck sales this year by 15% compared with 2015, down from an earlier forecast of a 10% decline.

Last year, Classes 6-8 sales were about 425,000.

“These workforce adjustments are expected to be temporary and workers will have first rights to be recalled when production is able to sustain a higher build rate,” the company said.

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Related reading:

http://www.bigmacktrucks.com/topic/45321-daimler-cuts-sales-forecast-as-class-8-orders-stall/#comment-334193

http://www.bigmacktrucks.com/topic/43388-freightliner-to-cut-almost-1000-jobs-at-cleveland-nc-truck-plant/#comment-318678

http://www.bigmacktrucks.com/topic/42262-dtna-forecasts-strong-truck-sales-next-year/#comment-30812

http://www.bigmacktrucks.com/topic/41818-dtna-sees-strong-truck-sales-extending-through-2016/#comment-303980

 

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Daimler Trucks to Cut 1,240 Jobs

Heavy Duty Trucking  /  June 6, 2016

DTNA has announced it will lay off about 1,240 workers across its North American production facilities in response to sustained reductions in truck orders.

Calling it a workforce adjustment, DTNA will lay off workers at its Mount Holly, N.C., Gastonia, N.C., Portland, Ore., and Santiago, Mexico, facilities.

There are currently no plans for reductions at the company’s facilities in Cleveland, N.C., and Saltillo, Mexico.

The company has seen a 15% decrease in Class 6-8 retail sales compared with last year’s robust numbers. However, it expects the low orders and diminished build rate to be temporary.

The workers to be laid off as part of this reduction will have first rights to be recalled when production is able to sustain a higher build rate, according to DTNA.

The last day of work at the Portland and Mount Holly facilities for laid-off workers will be July 1; the last day at the Gastonia Facility will be June 24; and the last day at the Santiago plant will be June 29.

The workforce reduction will impact approximately 600 workers at the Mount Holly facility; 270 workers at the Santiago facility; 200 workers at the Gastonia components and logistics facility, and 170 workers at the Western Star manufacturing facility in Portland.

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Freightliner laying off 800 workers in North Carolina

Associated Press  /  June 6, 2016

Freightliner says it will lay off about 800 workers in Gaston County as part of an international reduction in workforce.

David Giroux with Freightliner's parent company, Daimler Trucks North America told local media outlets that about 600 workers are being laid off at the plant in Mount Holly on July 1.

The company will let about 200 workers go at a parts and logistics plant in Gastonia on June 24.

Giroux said the layoffs should be temporary.

Daimler expects a 15 percent drop in sales of medium- and heavy-duty trucks, which are made in Mount Holly.

Mount Holly City Manager Danny Jackson said he's disappointed by the decision.

The vice president of the Mount Holly chapter of the United Auto Workers (UAW) union would not talk about the layoffs.

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Daimler Trucks will lay off 170 at Western Star factory in Portland

The Oregonian/Oregon Live  /  June 6, 2016

Daimler Trucks North America said Monday it will lay off 1,240 workers in the U.S. and Mexico – including 170 at its Western Star factory on Swan Island – amid a downturn in demand for long-haul trucks.

The Portland factory will continue to employ 570 and Daimler said it expects to recall laid-off workers once demand improves. It gave no indication, though, of when that will be.

The layoffs fall hardest at two sites in North Carolina, where the company is eliminating 800 jobs. Daimler will lay off another 270 in Mexico.

Daimler said it forecasts a 15 percent decrease in certain classes of trucks this year after selling 425,000 units in 2015. But it said the company's market share remains strong, growing from 39.4 percent last year to 41.9 percent this year.

Oregon's job market is the strongest it's been in years, with the statewide unemployment rate at 4.5 percent. There are weak spots, though. For example, manufacturing jobs have recovered rapidly in the past few years but haven't overcome the losses sustained in the Great Recession.

And Intel laid off 784 people at its sites in Washington County in April in one of the biggest single rounds of job cuts in state history. It will eliminate several hundred more Oregon jobs over the next year through buyouts, early retirement offers and project cancellations.

Daimler Trucks opened a new, $150 million North American headquarters on Swan Island in April. The company received nearly $20 million in public support for the project, with incentives tied to continued expansion at corporate office. Those offices are separate from the factory where Monday's layoffs are taking place.

Employment at Daimler's Western Star plant has been volatile in recent years, rising and falling along with the truck market. Scheduled at one point to close in 2010, Daimler kept it open and in 2011 announced a major expansion. Last year, the company agreed to pay $2.4 million to settle accusations of racial discrimination and sexual harassment at the site.