Superior Industries Cutting 225 Jobs
by July 3, 2006 12:00 am 59 views
Superior Industries International Inc. announced on June 16 that it will cut 225 jobs on its chrome-plating line in the Fayetteville plant, leaving the factory with about 1,000 employees.
Layoffs will take effect Aug. 16, said Jeff Ornstein, the company’s vice president and chief financial officer. The cuts are due to lack of demand in chrome plating of aluminum wheels, he said.
The Van Nuys, Calif.,-based company is helping employees find other employment Ornstein said.
Fifty of those in the chrome plating line will be moved to the “bright polish” line at the plant, he said. Currently there are 400 employees at the plating plant, and about 600 at the wheel-making and engineering plant.
General Motors Corp. and Ford Motor Co. are Superior’s largest customers, and their cuts have had a trickle-down effect on the company, Ornstein said, adding that the publicly traded company has made cuts in all of its U.S. operations.
According to the company’s 2005 annual report filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Superior Industries had a net loss of $5.8 million due to eliminating its aluminum suspension components business. In 2004, the company had $44.6 million in net income. Net sales dropped 6.7 percent from $901.8 million in 2004 to $844.9 million last year.