沃帕卡将闲置大部分埃托瓦铸造厂，裁员540人

In the biggest layoff in 田纳西州 in nearly two and a half years, the Waupaca铸造 is planning to cut 540 工作 in June as it idles most of its automotive casting foundry in Etowah.

沃帕卡之后的十年 重新开放了Etowah foundry following a yearlong shutdown during the Great Recession, the company said in a layoff notice received by the state Wednesday that it will idle its melt, molding and core room production in McMinn County by June 14. Waupaca, 哪一个。 operates a half dozen other automotive castings plants, 该公司表示，将把部分生产转移到沃帕卡的另一个工厂, 更大的设施.

Waupaca will continue iron casting processing operations in Etowah but with only a fraction of the 683 employees the company had at the 21-year-old plant at the beginning of the year, according to the McMinn County Economic Development Authority.

"Our responsibility to our customers and our team members rests on our long-term sustainability," Waupaca铸造 President and CEO Mike Nikolai said in a statement announcing the plant cutbacks. "We will continue to supply the high-quality cast and machined components and service that Waupaca is known for in the market."

Some production will transfer to other operations owned by Hitachi Metals Ltd.该公司于2015年收购了Waupaca. Nikolai said some parts now made in Etowah will be produced at Waupaca铸造 plants located in Marinette, 威斯康辛州, 和泰尔城, 印第安纳州.

"The production shift aligns manufacturing efficiencies with market demand,他在新闻发布会上说.

沃帕卡生产大约250种不同类型的刹车铸件, differential and other engine and body parts ultimately used in models of most of the major auto manufacturers. The Etowah plant is the newest and smallest among the six plants operated by Waupaca, 日立金属集团公司的一个部门.

根据 全球市场洞察, automakers are shifting to lighter-weight materials to replace cast iron parts in order to achieve better fuel mileage.

"Stringent government regulations imposed by regulatory bodies will motivate automotive manufacturers to minimize vehicle weights,全球市场洞察在最近的一份报告中表示. "The traditional metals such as cast iron are now being replaced by lightweight materials like aluminum to reduce overall vehicle weight along with improvement in vehicle efficiency."

Local officials said they hope Waupaca will be able to bring back its staff at a later date. When the automotive slump slashed automotive sales during the Great Recession, the Etowah plant was completely idled for more than a year but was ultimately reopened in 2011 and has continued to grow over the past decade.

"We obviously hope that Waupaca will be able to bring back these 工作 in the future as they have done in the past, but for now we'll be working to help those employees and their families who will be affected by these changes to find other 工作 in our community," McMinn County Mayor John Gentry said Wednesday in a telephone interview. "Area employers have already begun to reach out and indicate their desire to hire many of the affected workers, and McMinn County is fortunate to be between Knoxville and Chattanooga, 哪一个。 are two strong markets with lots of 工作 opportunities."

沃帕卡是麦克明县第三大雇主, behind only Denso Manufacturing and the McMinn County school system, according to employment data compiled by the county's economic development authority.

林赛•弗格森, executive director for the McMinn County Economic Development Authority, said a job fair is being organized for May to help workers being displaced by the Waupaca cutbacks in Etowah.

"We'll be onsite with a variety of employers to hopefully be able to recruit some of these employees who are already skilled and trained and are a well-qualified workforce for other employers,弗格森在接受电话采访时说.

玛丽施密特, a spokeswoman for Waupaca铸造 at the company's headquarters in Waupaca, 威斯康辛州, said displaced workers also will be offered other 工作 at other Waupaca plants.

Waupaca gave workers the required 60-day notice of their layoffs this week as required under the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act of 1988.

Waupaca铸造 is the leading supplier of cast and machined iron components for automotive, 非公路用, 商用车辆, 以及其他工业市场. 沃帕卡经营着四家铸铁厂，其中有1家.产能400万吨, as well as machining and casting finishing operations in the United States. The supplier has operated the ductile iron foundry in Etowah since 2001.

The layoff is the biggest in 田纳西州 since the Omni Nashville hotel closed in Nashville in early 2020, 闲置工人662人, 随着疫情对旅游经济的冲击, according to the 田纳西州 Department of Labor and Workforce Development.

The job cuts are the second such plant layoffs in McMinn County this year. 去年12月, 坚毅林产品 announced it would idle its pulp and paper operations at its Calhoun, 田纳西州, 该公司将在2月前关闭工厂，并解雇350名工人. The Canada-based company said the move was needed to cut ongoing losses at the Calhoun mill, 哪一个。, 尽管其产品市场强劲, 但在过去一年里损失了6200万美元.