Greencastle auto parts manufacturer to lay off 125 workers
GREENCASTLE, Ind. (WISH) — International Automotive Components says it will lay off 125 workers from its Greencastle plant between Dec. 10-31.
“I’ve got so many friends here. We’re all family. We grew up here,” said Michelle Thompson, who’s worked at the plant for 27 years.
IAC manufactures car door handles, dashboards and consoles at the Greencastle plant.
Jason Waller, president of United Auto Workers Local 2382, said, “It didn’t need to happen here. We were successful here. We were meeting all of our quotas. We were making money.”
Many of the workers affected live in Greencastle, Bainbridge, Brazil and Plainfield. There are about 180 hourly employees at the plant, and an estimated 50 more salaried and temporary workers.
After the layoffs, the plant’s operations will be moved to Michigan.
Waller worries about the impact losing these workers will have on the community. “People in this community know each other. They know someone who’s worked here. This place has been here for 35 years. Everyone knows someone or is related to someone who has worked here, so this is affecting a lot of people in the community.”
Some of the affected employees have already begun applying for manufacturing jobs in the area.
The union is in the process of trying to negotiate a severance package for those being laid off.
IAC wanted to lay off a hundred employees last May but instead decided not to fill vacant positions.
Greencastle, a city with more than 10,000 residents, is about an hourlong drive west of downtown Indianapolis.