Automotive: Market slowdown drives layoffs at suppliers

(New Albany, IN) had laid off 193 workers, or half its staff. The layoffs began last September and included 93 machine operators, 27 moldmakers, and 23 assembly personnel. Beach operates more than 200 injection molding machines, ranging from 30 to 1500 tons. The New Albany site was opened in 1972 and covers 410,000 sq ft. The company also has facilities in Emporia, VA, and Reynosa and Queretaro, Mexico.

Injection molder and blowmolder Flambeau will cut around 50 from its staff of 500, according to The Baraboo News Republic, with the reductions planned for its Baraboo, WI, Automotive Group division. Flambeau has five other U.S. plants, as well as sites in Mexico and England, serving a variety of markets, including fluid systems, hardware, industrial contract manufacturing, storage/containers, and medical products. The company is owned by the Nordic Group (also Baraboo).

Also in Wisconsin, The Crescent News reported that the Johnson Control Injection Molding facility in Wauseon, which was formerly part of Plastech, will close later this year, affecting 100 employees. Across the Atlantic, the faltering automotive and construction markets forced Welsh thermoformer and rotational molder Thompson Technik into administration, according to Wales Online. The factory in Bridgend employs 100 and is part of the larger Thompson Plastics Group, which employs more than 500 across the U.K.

This list of layoffs and closures is not complete, and doesn't touch on those companies that have placed employees on unpaid furlough or let them continue work with reduced hours (and pay). We'll keep reporting what we hear, and that hopefully will include any good news your company may have to share: hit us with it at [email protected].