Saturday, September 19, 2009
STAFF/WIRE REPORT
Delphi Corp. will close its wiring plant in Clinton, Miss., by the end of the year, and send production to Delphi Packard Electric plants in the Mahoning Valley.
The closing will idle 280 workers in Mississippi. Company spokeswoman Rachelle Valdez said that layoffs will begin Nov. 16 at the plant, which opened in the early 1970s.
About 70 more workers will be needed at Packard plants that produce cable and plastic connectors, she said. The jobs will be filled by workers who have been laid off, she said.
She didn’t know how many local workers are laid off at local plants, and officials at Local 717 of the International Union of Electrical Workers in Warren could not be reached. The local represents about 700 hourly workers.
Area plants produce parts that are used in vehicle wiring harnesses.
Valdez says workers in Mississippi will receive severance packages based on years of service for salaried employees and a union agreement for hourly workers.
Valdez says the closing comes amid declining customer demand for the systems manufactured at the plant coupled with general economic conditions in North America.