BY KEN de la BASTIDE

Herald Bulletin Senior Reporter

Thanks but no thanks was the response of Delphi officials to the city of Anderson's proposal to reopen talks regarding the sale of Plant 11.

A spokeswoman for Delphi Automotive Systems said Wednesday that the Michigan-based company is not interested in resuming discussions about the possible sale of Plant 11 in Anderson to Delco Remy America. Instead, the plant will close as planned.

Anderson city officials said Monday they were attempting to entice all parties involved to go back to the negotiating table to save more than 600 jobs.

Delphi announced July 16 that it planned to close Plant 11 after failing to reach an agreement to sell the generator plant to DRA.

The proposed sale failed when Delphi raised the sale price twice and United Auto Workers International would not agree to a two-tier pay scale, according to several sources.

"The decision has been made, and we intend to move forward with the winding down of the generator business," said Kathryn Oldham, Delphi spokeswoman. "We appreciate the community's interest and concern."

Undeterred, Anderson city officials met Tuesday with representatives from the Indiana Department of Commerce and the area's congressional delegation to renew talks between Delphi, DRA and the UAW.

Representatives for U.S. Sens. Richard Lugar, Evan Bayh and U.S. Rep. Mike Pence attended the meeting.

"The next step is contacting Delphi," said Tim Lanane, Anderson city attorney and state senator. "We are certainly in a position to offer assistance and encouragement to try and put the discussions back on track to save jobs."

Lanane said state and elected officials want to be kept apprised of what is being done to keep the jobs in Anderson.

"There is no clear idea if Delphi is willing to resume the talks," he said. "I hope that they would consider the community's concern."

Lanane said the group decided to have Anderson Mayor J. Mark Lawler contact Delphi about returning to the negotiating table.

Lawler and Economic Development Director Steve Fultz were among a contingent of city officials who traveled this week to Colorado to discuss downtown development efforts in Fort Collins, Boulder and Denver.

Anderson officials hope Delphi, DRA and the UAW representatives can agree on the sale of Plant 11.

"We're hopeful our message will be strong enough to get them (Delphi) to agree to resume the talks," said Lanane.

©2000 The Herald Bulletin.