GM, Delphi cuts affect entire area More than 4,000 jobs are expected to be lost

Retail shops, charities, entertainment, housing and car dealers will be affected, an official said.
By DON SHILLING
VINDICATOR BUSINESS EDITOR
WARREN -- Every part of the local economy will be pinched as General Motors and Delphi Packard Electric plan to cut 4,400 jobs in the Mahoning Valley, an official said.
"These are high-paying jobs," said Reid Dulberger, executive vice president of the Regional Chamber. "This money reverberates throughout the Mahoning Valley, impacting retail shops, entertainment, charities, housing and car dealers."
It's hard to put a dollar amount on the impact because many of the workers are retiring with pensions, although it isn't known how many will stay in the area, he said.
In addition, Packard will be using fewer supplies from local companies as it shrinks its operation, he said.
The job cuts come as the financially troubled companies try to pare their work forces with buyouts. About 1,600 hourly workers at GM's Lordstown complex have signed up to leave or retire. Those jobs will be lost as the plant eliminates its midnight shift.
Workers stunned
Packard surprised workers this week when it announced it wants to cut nearly 2,800 hourly jobs from its local operations.
Packard plans to keep just 1,033 workers at local plants, according to information presented to workers.
"People were stunned," said Helen Rucker, a 34-year Packard employee and Warren city councilwoman.
Remaining workers would be at plants in Cortland, Vienna and Rootstown and two parts of its massive North River Road plant.
Packard has about 3,000 hourly workers just at its North River Road complex. The two parts of the complex that would remain make metal stampings and cable, workers were told.
The Cortland and Vienna plants are highly automated operations that produce plastic parts, while Rootstown makes plastic pellets for those plants. Packard makes vehicle wiring systems at plants around the world.
Numbers not final
Despite the announced job cuts, both union and company spokeswomen said that future staffing levels are not final.
Ann Cornell Vickers, a Packard spokesman, said staffing levels will depend on upcoming contract negotiations with the International Union of Electrical Workers and business conditions.
She declined to talk about specific numbers provided to workers but said the company wanted workers to know its expectations as they decide whether to take a buyout.
Delphi, which is trying to reorganize and emerge from bankruptcy protection next year, has offered workers between $35,000 and $140,000 to either leave the company or retire. They have until Aug. 9 to decide.
Lauren Asplen, an IUE spokeswoman, said negotiations are vital because current local and national contracts restrict cuts the company can make. The contract for IUE Local 717, for example, guarantees that workers will have a job.
Delphi has asked a bankruptcy court judge, however, to throw out its union contracts.
Nationwide plans
Dulberger said he had hoped Delphi would keep a much larger presence when it announced in March that it would maintain manufacturing in the Mahoning Valley and seven other sites. It plans to close 21 sites and reduce its hourly work force nationwide from 34,000 to 12,000.
A large cut in hourly workers isn't the only concern, however, Dulberger said.
The area's economy also stands to suffer because Delphi is demanding cuts in wages and benefits for workers who stay on the job. Production workers earn $27 an hour.
Also, Dulberger noted that Packard hasn't announced plans for its 1,200 salaried workers in the area.
On a personal level, Rucker said she plans to take the company's offer of a $35,000 buyout and the opportunity to retire with a pension from GM, which used to be Delphi's parent company.
Leaving now will reduce her Social Security payments someday, but Rucker said she no longer trusts that Delphi will be around for the long haul. Rucker, 54, has 34 years with Delphi and GM.
On top of that, she still feels the pain of having invested in Delphi stock, which is nearly worthless now.
"We lost our investment. Some of us lost our life savings because we depended on and believed upper management that this company was going to grow," she said.
shilling@vindy.com