By JARED JERNAGAN, Banner Graphic Assistant Editor
The recent announcement of shutdowns at GM plants and Chrysler's filing for bankruptcy Thursday have had a major impact on one Greencastle plant this week.
International Automotive Components (IAC), already in the midst of a workforce reduction due to the GM situation, notified employees of further layoffs on Friday following Chrysler's announcement.
"Usually suppliers are notified by customers in advance, and that didn't happen yesterday," IAC director of marking and communications David Ladd told the Banner Graphic. "It's not been even 24 hours yet since we found out, and we're still trying to ascertain what actions we have to take."
Ladd, dealing with layoffs across the corporation, had no exact numbers or details on Greencastle's particular situation.
"I really don't know from one plant to the next what we are doing, but we're doing something at all our plants. Some of that action will be temporary, as long as the shutdown is going on, and others might be more permanent. I don't have any of that information," Ladd said.
"I know that in Greencastle we were already in the middle of a workforce reduction when this news broke from Chrysler yesterday," he added. "There were numbers that would have been legitimate yesterday, and they're no longer legitimate because we're going to have to rethink the whole thing. And that was a result of last week's announcement by GM that they were shutting down for 90 days over the summer."
For their part, officials at the Greencastle plant were not able to speak on the issue, aside from the company's official statement, which read in full, "The unprecedented actions of General Motors plant shutdowns and Chrysler's chapter 11 shutdowns are impacting the supply industry across North America. IAC, like all other suppliers to GM and Chrysler, will be required to make dramatic adjustments in production volume and corresponding employment levels."
Ladd, who admitted the situation with Chrysler had the company's "heads spinning," said the exact impact on the entire IAC corporation, as well as Greencastle's plant, remains uncertain.
"I'm trying to find out as we speak how many employees are being impacted in Greencastle. We're taking this kind of action across the country," Ladd said. "We have many more plants and every one will be impacted, some to a greater degree than others, because Chrysler and GM are our two largest customers. They're certainly not our only customers, but they do represent a lot of our production capacity."
What is certain is the continued struggles of the auto industry are hurting a lot of companies and even more people.
"It's just been one blow after another and it's really bringing many of the suppliers in the industry to their knees," Ladd said.