String of layoffs pepper state, 400 out of work

IBJ Staff

Three layoffs were announced yesterday in as many locations in Indiana.

Superior Essex Inc. said it will close its wire manufacturing plant in Vincennes as part of a restructuring and shift the work to plants in Tennessee and Mexico, the Vincennes Sun-Commercial reported. By the end of the year, 250 workers will lose their jobs. The positions, many of which paid $14 to $15 an hour, are a key driver of the economy in the southwestern Indiana town. The wire- and cable-making giant is headquartered in Atlanta.

Great Dane Trailers said it would lay off 75 workers at its truck trailer manufacturing plant in Terre Haute after initially saying the plant would avoid the action, according to The Tribune-Star of Terre Haute. The company earlier this month laid off 130 at its plant in nearby Brazil. Great Dane, based in Savannah, Ga., has 500 workers in Terre Haute and 1,000 in Brazil. The action was blamed on weakened traffic for hauling goods used in the softening housing and automotive markets.

Delphi Corp. laid off 75 production workers across at its Electronics & Safety unit in Kokomo due to slowing sales of the electronic auto parts the plant assembles. The Troy, Mich., company has 1,800 hourly workers and 2,300 salaried employees in Kokomo, according to the Kokomo Tribune.