By Associated Press
Athens, AL – A union leader said Monday Delphi will close an auto parts factory in Limestone County by March 2009 and cutbacks will begin almost immediately. The company says some 12-hundred people are employed at the plant.
Members of the U-A-W Local 2195 were informed of the company's plans during a series of meetings. President Vaughn Goodwin said many union members were taken by surprise by the announcement.
Delphi had no immediate comment. The factory manufactures steering components and axles.
Workers at the Athens plant make hourly wages ranging from 14 to almost 28 dollars. On Friday, Delphi announced it had reached a tentative deal with U-A-W that would cut wages to a maximum of 18-50 an hour by October first.
Vaughn said displaced workers could be offered positions at General Motors factories, but not Delphi plants.
Delphi has smaller factories in Cottondale and Gadsden. The company's plans for those plants are not immediately known.
(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)