Big Ontario auto parts firm lays off hundreds
Linamar three-month chart
Linamar Corp. of Guelph, Ont., confirmed Tuesday that it is trimming 400 to 500 more people from its 12,000-strong workforce in tough times for the North American auto and construction-equipment industries.
Linamar makes parts for General Motors, Chrysler, Ford and Caterpillar, among other customers, as well as farm equipment and other products, including Skyjack aerial work platforms. It has plants in Canada, the United States, Mexico, Germany, Hungary, Korea and China.
"We have 22 of our 38 facilities in Guelph, so the vast majority of the impact would be felt in Guelph, but it's not limited just to Ontario," the company's communication manager, Crystal Roberts, told CBC News.
About 7,000 people work at the Guelph plants, all of them non-union.
Roberts said the 400 to 500 employees getting layoff notices will join 200 to 300 previously laid off. No exact total was available because each of the 38 plants is run as a separate enterprise, she said.
"Each of the general managers is assessing the work force every day and then assessing any layoff numbers. …They are temporary, and our goal is to get people back as quickly as possible, so that number's going to always be in flux."
The news did not depress Linamar's share price. The stock closed at $11.67, up 51 cents, on the Toronto Stock Exchange. But it was still less than half its 52-week high of $24.68.
The company has been "managing quite well" in a difficult environment with a strong Canadian dollar but is affected by the problems of its customers, Roberts said.
"We're at a point now, with the volume reductions being what they are, that we've had no choice but to start looking at our workforce and conducting temporary layoffs," she said.
Linamar has been trying to hold its own in the auto parts business, she said, but orders for the Skyjack platforms have fallen off as a result of the U.S. construction slump.
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