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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowA troubled auto parts manufacturer in Columbus notified the state yesterday that it plans to lay off 135 employees and could close due to declining sales orders.
Columbus Components Group LLC will begin laying off workers April 9, but the action may not be enough to save the company. The company said it has lost an undisclosed number of contracts.
“It is anticipated that the withdrawal of these orders will result in layoffs in the workforce, and the possibility exists that a closing of the facility may be required,” company President Rick Holmes said in his notification letter.
The layoffs will affect both union and non-union employees.
Just last month, union members at the plant overwhelmingly voted to accept wage cuts and changes to their insurance and retirement benefits.
Columbus Components Group, which operates in a former Arvin Industries plant, notified its 400 workers Feb. 9 that the company would close as early as March 1 unless they agreed to a 5-percent pay cut, among other concessions.
The company already has laid off about 60 workers for one to two months in a cost-cutting move, but is struggling to make ends meet amid an economy hammered by extremely low auto sales. The plant stamps parts for automotive companies, including Cummins Inc.
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