Closings and Layoffs

One of the most critical factors in an expansion is to take advantage of a skilled and available work force. By moving quickly, you can find that work force in areas of the South where companies have closed or laid off a significant number of employees. Here are some closings and layoffs in the South that did not make the national news.

Boat Engine Plant Cuts 600 Jobs in Georgia

Outboard Marine Corp., a motor and small boat maker in Calhoun, Georgia, has laid off 598 employees at its plant. The company, based in Waukegan, Ill., has made attempts to secure financing and been unsuccessful. The company has said that 1000 people, or 13%, of its North American work force of 7,200, would be laid off permanently by year-end.

Solutia in Cost-Reduction Mode, Eliminating Up to 800 Jobs

In an effort to save $100 million, Solutia Inc. will eliminate up to 800 full-time positions from its St. Louis integrated nylon business. The company will implement cost reducing measures which will include eliminating 700 to 800 jobs, reducing its senior management team and reducing its 400 contractors. The company announced a fourth-quarter write-down of $90 million to $100 million for the position reductions.

Volvo Trucks North America Cuts Workers in Virginia

Volvo Trucks North America eliminated 400 jobs in February at its New River Valley plant in Virginia as part of its response to the downturn in the trucking industry. Volvo Trucks, headquartered in Greensboro, employs 2000 people at its New River Plant, and 3,900 people nationwide. The truck and automaker is refocusing its production capacity to manufacture more daycabs because of a glut of sleeper cabs on the market. Daycabs require less employee hours to produce than sleeper cabs.

Layoffs Announced at Bausch & Lomb in Florida

In February, 82 workers at the Bausch & Lomb's manufacturing plant in Sarasota were laid off. The company had previously announced that its sales projections would fall short for the second half of this year, and that a restructuring would occur, resulting in layoffs.

Lockheed to Cut 675 Jobs

Lockheed Martin Corp.'s Marietta, Georgia plant announced in January that a series of layoffs were planned over the next 18 months. Despite its recent $734.5 million contract to provide 12 C-130J transport planes to the U.S. military, the company will eliminate 675 jobs over the next 18 months. The company plans to use external suppliers for some of the components currently produced at the plant. Lockheed expects this to save the company $25 million over the next few years.

Mooreville Losing 530 Jobs

Mooresville, North Carolina will lose 530 jobs when Matsushita Electric Industrial Company closes its plant this spring. The company is one of the city's largest employers. Japan-based Matsushita began production in Mooresville in 1989, making rotary compressors for room air conditioners. At its peak, the company employed 700 people at the plant.

Tyco Electronics Lays Off 393 in Texas

Only months after purchasing a Mesquite, Texas plant that makes power systems for phone networks and computers, Tyco Electronics has laid off 393 people, or 17% of the facility's 2,200 employees. Tyco has not given a reason for the layoff. Tyco bought the plant last fall as part of its $2.5 billion purchase of Lucent Technologies' Power Systems business. The unit generated operating income of about $100 million and sales of $1.5 billion in 1999 for Lucent.

Multek to Lay Off 600 in Austin

MultiLayer Technology is laying off 600 of its 1,100 employees in Austin. The local operation is called Multek Austin. Multek, a maker of printed circuit boards, made the announcement in January.

Decline in Truck Manufacturing Industry Creates Layoffs in Denton, Texas

A national decline in the trucking industry is causing Peterbilt Motors, Denton's largest employer, to announce a series of layoffs at its Denton assembly plant. Peterbilt, which laid off workers last year as well, also idled its production line
for two days in January. The company's suppliers are also being affected by the economic factors in the trucking industry. Ohio-based Trim Systems will close its Denton operation and lay off its 95 employees. The number of people laid off from Peterbilt was not announced.

WestPoint Stevens to Close South Carolina Plant

Westpoint Stevens is closing its Seneca sheeting plant and will lay off 468 employees. The move is part of a restructuring plan the linen company announced in June 2000. Modernization within the company leading to increasingly efficient production at other WestPoint Stevens plants were cited as reasons for the closing.

Atlanta Trucking Company Shuts Down

SouthTrust Bank called the $16 million loan to Marietta's Professional Transportation Group, which formerly operated a fleet of more than 700 trucks. Unable to obtain other funding, the company announced that the operations of its subsidiary, Timely Transportation, would cease as creditors foreclose on its assets. The assets of another subsidiary also have been sold. The company had 750 employees, including 350 employees in the Atlanta area, and revenues of $41 million. The reason given for the insolvency was "lack of cash and lack of liquidity."

Airforce to Eliminate 1,038 Positions at Lackland

A controversial base-services contract at San Antonio's Lackland Air Force Base has been awarded to private-sector contractors, despite an earlier decision to keep the work in-house. Lackland 21st Century Services Consolidated and Phoenix Management, the original contractors named in August to replace 738 civilian jobs and 300 military positions, will retain their contract. AETC conducted a comparison study that determined base functions were more efficiently performed by outside contractors. The 738 civilian employees displaced by the decision now have the option to find work at other federal agencies. The 300 military personnel will be reassigned to other bases.

Layoffs at Motorola's Boynton Facility

Motorola in Boynton Beach, Fla., is changing its operations by outsourcing manufacturing, transferring its Pager Care Division to Fort Worth. The company will offer to transfer 350 employees and will layoff as many as 450 others from its workforce of 2,000. The changes are to be complete by first quarter 2001. Personal messenger manufacturing will be transferred to Dublin, Ireland, under the Canada-based Celestica, and will be worth $1.1 billion over three years. Eight hundred employees will be effected. Of those, 100 may transfer to Motorola's Pager Care Center in Fort Worth, and 250 may transfer to Motorola's Plantation facility.