Delphi union fighting layoff announcement

August 6, 2016 at 12:00a.m.

WARREN

Union officials are working to fight layoffs from hitting the Delphi plant where 672 work.

The IUE-CWA Local 717 union leaders were brought in to meet with Delphi management and informed of “revenue issues” that were affecting the Delphi operation in Warren, according to a letter sent to Local 717 members this week.

“What was shared with us was nothing short of pure shock as to what the management of Delphi is planning to do to fix these revenue issues,” the letter reads.

The company, according to the union, would like to take out 30 mold presses at Delphi Plant 47 in Vienna. Then the company would insource two 500-ton mold presses and two lines for assembly of Bussed Electrical Centers. Its unclear how many jobs would be affected by this change.

At Delphi’s Plant 10, the company told the union it wants to outsource about 20 percent of cable operations to a facility in Los Mochis, Mexico, due to “competitive” issues.

Total layoffs at the plant would be 88, according to the union, but in November the company and union came to an agreement that no layoffs would take place over the course of the contract’s five-year term. The union hasn’t been given a time line for when the layoffs will take place.

“We aren’t going to take this lying down,” said Ed Salus, president of Local 717.

Salus and other union leaders are reaching out to local politicians and the international union to work to prevent the layoffs.

“We are going to fight it contractually,” Salus said. “People are very concerned, especially since we brought back a good contract. We regained a lot of what was taken away during bankruptcy.”

In 2005, the Delphi plant located on North River Road Northeast had more than 13,000 workers.

“Delphi is continually working its cost structure to align with conditions in the markets it serves,” a Delphi spokewoman said in a statement. “We do not comment on any of the specifics of our plans, as we remain focused on serving our customers and investing in our business for growth.”