Chrysler shutdown leads to W MI layoffs

MIDDLEVILLE, Mich. (WOOD) - Automotive parts supplier Metaldyne is laying off 30 hourly workers at its Middleville facility as a result of the announced shutdown of Chrysler LLC plants, a company spokeswoman told 24 Hour News 8.

Chrysler, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Thursday, plans to keep most of its plants idle during the bankruptcy proceedings.

The move means there's no need for most of the parts that go into new Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep vehicles, including those made at Metaldyne's Middleville facility.

Chrysler's decision to stop most production work and General Motors' planned 9-week shutdown beginning June 1 mean Metaldyne's announcement is almost certain to be accompanied by similar decisions from other automotive suppliers, analyst Erich Merkle of Crowe Horwath told 24 Hour News 8.

And West Michigan, home the nation's sixth-largest concentration of suppliers, is almost certain to feel those effects.

A spokesman for Magna International, a supplier that does business with Chrysler and has plants in Kent and Ottawa counties, said Friday it was "too soon to know" what exact effect Chrysler's decision will have on Magna.

Magna cut 75 workers from its Alto plant this week prior to the Chrysler announcement, transferring the work to Newaygo. The spokesman said the move was not related to the Chrysler shutdown.

Chrysler is the second-largest U.S. partner for Johnson Controls, Inc., a supplier with a major Ottawa County presence. JCI makes seats and interior systems for Chrysler vehicles, including Jeeps and the Dodge Ram. A company spokeswoman said she did not have information on the effect the Chrysler decision would have on JCI production in Holland.

A JCI statement emphasized that the company will continue to be paid money Chrysler owes it, thanks in part to the U.S. Treasury Department's "Supplier Credit Insurance Program."

Metaldyne employs another 47 hourly and 23 salaried workers in Middleville who are unaffected by the decision, spokeswoman Marge Sorge said. The plant makes oil pumps, water pumps and transmission sub assemblies among other parts for General Motors, Ford and International as well as Chrysler.

Sorge said laid-off workers are expected to return once Chrysler resumes making automobiles.

"It's all contingent upon Chrysler's decisions," she said.

Chrysler officials have said they hope bankruptcy will last 30 to 60 days.