Layoff news at commercial truck manufacturers piles up

In addition to the layoffs at Mack Trucks reported last week, layoffs also are reported at Kenworth on top of other layoffs that started last fall.

There is a glut of trucks causing companies to lay off employees and a slowing global economy, reports Bloomberg News.

Mack trucks is moving forward with layoffs at its Lehigh Valley plant in Lower Macungie Township, Pa. As Land Line has reported, the company announced in December that it would be making cutbacks in 2020. The first of those will begin with the layoff of 305 employees at the close of business on Feb. 28.

The Chillicothe, Ohio, Kenworth Trucks plant plans to lay off 185 employees in January, and there may be more layoffs in February, according to the Scioto Post in Circleville, Ohio

Greensboro, N.C.-based Volvo Trucks North America announced it would lay off about 700 workers in January at the company’s New River Valley plant in Dublin, Va., reports the Triad Business Journal in Greensboro, N.C.

Portland, Ore.-based Daimler Trucks North America laid off hundreds of workers at two Freightliner plants in October, reports WBTV. Layoffs included 450 in Mount Holly, N.C., and another 450 at the Cleveland/Rowan County plant. Those layoffs amount 16% of the workforce in Mount Holly and 26% of the workforce at the Cleveland plant, according WolfStreet.com.

In December, Lisle, Ill.-based Navistar International Corp. announced plans to lay off more than 10% of its workforce. The Springfield News-Sun in Ohio reports layoffs at the Springfield plant in starting in September 2019 totaling more than 200.

Navistar International announced plans in December to reduce global employment by more than 10%, according to Crains Chicago Business.

Columbus, Ind.-based Cummins Inc. announced plans in November to dismiss 2,000 salaried employees as part of a $300 million cost-cutting effort. The layoffs were expected to occur by the first quarter of 2020.