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GKN Sinter toaxe four US and UK plants
GKN Sinter Metals is to close three plants in the United
States and one in the UK this year in an attempt to consolidate
in the face of worsening business conditions. The move will
affect nearly 300 jobs - approximately 10 per cent of the
company's US workforce. Adding in the 175 job losses in the
UK, the number of jobs affected represents around 7 per cent
of the company's world wide workforce of about 6500 employees.
The three US plants are all in Michigan - at Romulus near
Detroit, and at Owosso and Zeeland - while the UK plant is
at Lichfield. GKN Sinter has 14 other plants in the US and
one in Canada. It is thought that operations will be transferred
to plants in Wisconsin, Indiana or Ohio.
Despite GKN's UK roots, the centre of GKN Sinter Metal's
European operations is in Germany, and work from the Lichfield
plant will be transferred there.
The company has 40 plants world wide and has made significant
inroads in China in the past two years.
A spokeswoman said that the Romulus plant had seen "significant
declines" in its main transmission component business
over the years and the plant was no longer viable. The other
two US closures had also experienced declines in volumes in
automotive and other industrial product lines.
"Even though GKN Sinter Metals is the biggest company
of its type in the world we have to maintain and improve efficiency,"
she said. "These moves should be seen as part of that."
Detroit-based PM industry observers say that the major reason
for the contraction is the continuing financial ill health
and ebbing market share of US automotive's Big Three. The
job cuts are another blow to Michigan's economy. The state
has lost more than 200 000 manufacturing jobs since 2000 and
more unemployment is certain in the sort term as the Big Three
and their major suppliers prepare for major plant closures
in an effort to balance the books.
GKN purchased the Owosso facility from Michigan Sintered
Metals in 1999. The Romulus powder-forging (P/F) plant was
purchased from Borg Warner in 1998. And the Zeeland plant
was originally part of Sinter Metals Inc., purchased by GKN
in 1997.
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