Automakers’ bankruptcy would wreck some auto suppliers

Auto suppliers already are wobbly and a bankruptcy by General Motors or another automaker could knock out many of them, a local company owner said.

“We’re going through our own Katrina,” said Darrell McNair, owner of Nescor Plastics Corp., which employs 100 in Mesopotamia and Champion.

McNair spoke with reporters today as part of GM’s effort to promote is case for $12 billion in loans from the federal government. GM arranged a conference call so public and private officials from throughout Ohio could explain how their companies and communities would be affected if the automaker were to close.

To keep his company afloat as auto sales have fallen, McNair said he has cut wages, scaled back production, changed health care plans, increased employee contributions for health care, delayed buying new equipment and hired a consultant to find ways to run operations more efficiently.

If GM were to file for bankruptcy, auto suppliers such as Nescor would close and that would further delay the nation’s economic recovery, he said.

For more information, see Thursday’s Vindicator or www.vindy.com.