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Freightliner to lay off 2,100 at 3 North Carolina plants

GASTONIA, N.C. — A truck manufacturer says it will lay off more than 2,100 employees at three North Carolina plants because of sagging sales.

Freightliner’s parent company, Daimler Trucks North America, said Thursday the layoffs will affect plants in Gastonia and Mount Holly in Gaston County and Cleveland in Rowan County. The company laid off about 1,500 second-shift workers at the Cleveland plant in June 2008 before calling back 650 in August when orders picked up for the Freightliner Cascadia.

The company said the layoffs will happen March 13.

United Auto Worker local president George Drexel said plant employees learned of the layoffs Thursday. Drexel said workers knew cuts were coming but didn’t expect them to be as deep as they were.

Daimler Trucks North America Chief Executive Chris Patterson said the layoffs were forced by “extremely difficult and challenging times for our industry.” Patterson says the company looks forward to production resuming.

Also on Thursday, the company said it would trim 190 jobs by the end of the month at the former Freightliner plant in Portland.

The cuts are part of the restructuring announced by Daimler AG as the Germany automotive company sheds 9 percent of the work force at its heavy truck division.

After the Jan. 30 layoffs, about 700 workers will remain at the Swan Island plant, which builds U.S. military vehicles and Western Star trucks. The plant is scheduled to close in June 2010.

The layoffs announced Thursday do not affect 2,000 other workers at the Portland headquarters of the truck division.

Kevin Jones of The Trucker staff can be reached for comment at [email protected].