Dana frame plant in Thorold closing - Skilled Trades Association

Skilled Trades Association, CAW Local 199 St. Catharines (General Motors Unit)

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Dana to close frame plant in Thorold
125 people will lose jobs

By TIFFANY MAYER
Standard Staff

Dana Canada is closing it's Thorold frame plant, leaving another 125 people jobless and the fate of the autoparts giant's neighbouring machining facility shrouded in uncertainty.

The announcement Tuesday follows the recent layoff of 537 employees at the plant, which builds frames for Ford pickup trucks.

News of the closure, which will occur in May, came as a surprise to workers.

"Everyone right now is pretty numb. We're all in shock," said Tim Lambert, president of the Canadian Auto Workers Local 676.

"We were hoping things would smooth out and jobs would continue there without this announcement. It's really another blow to the Dana workers and the community."

Last month, Dana announced it would close eight North American plants as the bankrupt company struggles to restructure. Dana spokesman Paul Teeple said further closures are expected and could include the Thorold machining plant, which employs about 180.

"At this point in time, our hope is that plant is OK, but Dana is still revisiting how much manufacturing space it needs. At this point in time, no decision has been made about that plant either one way or the other," Teeple said.

The closure is being blamed on the current downturn in the North American auto industry and the Thorold facility's inability to compete with cheaper product manufactured south of the border, Teeple said. "Dana has too much capacity. We were struggling to find some new business for the plant and haven't been able to... You get to the point where you just have to make a decision."

Employees will be given severance packages, while others can opt for early retirement, Lambert said. Those with seniority also have "bumping rights" and can take jobs from those remaining at the machining plant.

Patrick Gedge, chief executive officer of the Niagara Economic Development Corp., said the loss of more than 650 jobs at the plant, a fixture on Hayes Road since 1966, reaffirms the need to diversify the local economy, something that would be aided by the building of the mid-peninsula highway and the expansion of Highway 406 into Port Colborne. Both are talked about, but neither is a certainty.

"That's a major impact on our economy. There aren't that many firms of that size in our economy so it has a major effect," Gedge said. "That's why we have to work so hard at building up new transportation and infrastructure we have in Niagara region so that we're able to attract new firms and expand ones that are here."

(From that St. Catharines Standard, Wednesday December 13, 2006, page A2.)

Merry Christmas...