Navistar makes closure of Chatham truck plant official
CHATHAM, Ont. — Navistar has announced a North American restructuring that will see it permanently shutter its Chatham, Ont. truck plant.
The Chatham plant had been idled since June 2009, when the company failed to reach a deal with the Canadian Auto Workers union representing the plant’s employees. As a result, Navistar notes, Chatham production was already absorbed by other Navistar truck plants.
“From a capacity standpoint, we are well positioned to meet demand expected in the last half of 2011 and further increases in 2012,” said Dee Kapur, president, Navistar Truck Group. “We’re seeing tremendous benefit from our flexible manufacturing strategy, which allows us to build more trucks – and a wider variety of them – at various plants.”
Meanwhile, Navistar plans to consolidate motor coach production and close its Workhorse Custom Chassis subsidiary in Union City, Ind. These operations will be consolidated into other existing Navistar facilities to improve productivity, the company announced.
Once all its restructuring is complete, Navistar anticipates savings of $20-$30 million per year.
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It only took 20 years to shut down heavy truck production in Canada since the Conservative free trade agreement came into effect.
The balance of the auto industry has also suffered. The steel production in Canada has also suffered.
It only makes sense, if you have job problems in your home country you shut down competition in your plants in other countries. This is what the USA has done and is still doing.
When is the Canadian government doing to protect the manufacturing industry in Canada?
Well, it’s promoting sale of our natural resources to prop up the drop in revenue from mfg. This whole country will eventually be turned into a contaminated waste bunker.
What will they do when they have given away all of our natural resources?
Obviously they have no long term plan.
They are only worried about the term of there election.
Our legacy to our children and our grandchildren is being given away by our government’s short term planning and lack of initiative to protect mfg jobs in Canada for the long term.