Top executives move to Streetsboro building

Packard has moved all of its administrative offices out of Dana Street.
By DON SHILLING
VINDICATOR BUSINESS EDITOR
WARREN -- Top executives at Delphi Packard Electric now are working from an office in Streetsboro.
The move to the city between Akron and Cleveland came as Packard has emptied out its administrative offices at Dana Street in Warren.
The top brass selected Streetsboro because a building there suited their needs and it is closer to Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, said Maraline Kubik, a Packard spokeswoman.
The executives who made the move a few weeks ago are in charge of Packard's global operations, she said.
Kubik didn't have the number of people working in Streetsboro but said it is a few executives and their support staff.
She said the move is part of the reorganization of local operations as Packard's parent company, Delphi Corp., fights to emerge from bankruptcy court protection.
Other administrative offices that had been at Dana Street were moved earlier this year to Packard's North River Road complex. Production on Dana Street ended a few years ago.
Moved from Liberty
Kubik didn't know how many salaried workers were moved out of Dana Street. The headquarters had 150 workers in 2002 when it moved there.
Packard moved the headquarters to Dana Street to save money. It had been operating from a leased building in Liberty for the previous 10 years.
Packard, which makes wiring harnesses for vehicles and other electronic components at plants around the world, was started on Dana Street in 1890 when brothers James and William Packard began making light bulbs.
Packard still has about 1,200 salaried workers in the area, although Delphi has said it intends to trim its white-collar staff.
The hourly staff at Packard's local operations has been cut from 3,800 to 659 through buyout and early retirement incentives. Union officials expect Packard to need about 1,100 workers once Delphi emerges from bankruptcy court protection.
Delphi hopes to have its reorganization plan approved by the court in 2007.
Packard operations that are being retained are a cable production plant and metal terminal plant on North River Road, plastic molding plants in Cortland and Vienna and a plastic resin plant in Rootstown.
shilling@vindy.com