Freightliner to shut down St. Thomas plant temporarily

PORTLAND, Ore., (Sept. 25, 2001) – In an attempt to cut inventories, Freightliner plans to temporarily shut down three of its North American truck plants for a week next month, including the Sterling plant in St. Thomas, Ont., which will close the week of Oct. 22 to Oct. 26th.

Also closing will be plants in Portland, Ore. and Cleveland, N.C. The move is said to affect more than 4,000 employees, 855 of which are from St. Thomas.

Freightliner spokesperson Chris Brandt admitted this closure is not a traditional shutdown like the ones OEMs usually conduct during slow summer weeks, but is one due to current market conditions. He said the industry slump has forced North American retail sales down 36% on the heavy-duty side, and about 22% for class 6 and 7 vehicles. Brandt also said he expects capacity to return to present conditions once the plants reopen at the end of October.

In order to keep its two Portland, Ore, plants open, Freightliner reportedly has asked its union workers to take a pay cut and other concessions, according to published reports.

Freightliner is also scheduled to unveil new restructuring plans next month.