Ron Hamilton, Shelbyville News Staff Writer
The ongoing American Axle & Manufacturing strike and the resulting General Motors Corp. parts shortage will force at least 250 temporary layoffs at Shelbyville's Pilkington North America Co. plant, company officials announced Friday afternoon.
Layoffs at the glass-manufacturing plant, located at 300 Northridge Drive, begin Monday and could last until April 1, officials said.
"Pilkington is forced to make this decision based on the decline in GM orders, due to the negotiations breakdown between American Axle and United Auto Workers," said a prepared statement issued by human resources executive Daniel Eckstein. "We are unable to carry substantial operating costs without the customer demand. Business necessity has forced us to temporarily idle production."
The layoffs amount to about two-thirds of Pilkington's local work force of 400, Roberta Stedman, a Pilkington spokeswoman said Friday. Stedman said that 49 percent of the local plant's business is with GM.
Company officials said that the layoff and recall process "will be followed per the collective bargaining agreement, and employees in all job classifications may be affected."
Earlier this week, the American Axle strike and GM parts shortage had already caused more than two dozen voluntary layoffs at Plant No. 2 at Ryobi Die Casting USA Inc., 800 Mausoleum Road.
According to some local business sources, nearly 44 percent of Ryobi's business and nearly 60 percent of Pilkington's is either directly or indirectly tied to GM. Meridian Automotive Systems at 501 W. Northridge Drive also has been adversely affected, but company officials would not comment on the scope of adverse impact.
The strike has curtailed production at more than three-dozen GM or GM-related plants in the United States and Canada. GM makes up 80 percent of the Detroit-based parts supplier's business, which is manufacturing axles, drive shafts and stabilizer bars for GM's flagship pickup trucks, large sport utility vehicles and vans.
Bill Kent, vice president of operations at PK USA at 600 Northridge Drive, told The Shelbyville News earlier this week that there have been 13 temporary layoffs at his company recently, but he said none were linked to the current GM parts shortage.
The United Auto Workers union has said that American Axle is demanding wage reductions of up to $14 an hour as well as the elimination of future retirement and pension benefits. The union also accused the company of unfair labor practices, which the company has denied, and it said American Axle failed to provide the union with enough information to evaluate its proposals.
American Axle, however, says the union should give the company the same wage concessions it has agreed to at other suppliers and automakers. So far, nearly 40,000 hourly workers across the country have been effected by the strike. The Detroit News has reported that both sides are "far apart" and appear to be "settling in for a long strike."