Truck manufacturer blames tariffs and ‘market uncertainty’ for layoffs
With Mack Trucks announcing hundreds of layoffs at one of its operating centers, the company is blaming economic uncertainty and tariffs for the downsizing.
On Friday, April 18, the Greensboro, N.C.-based truck manufacturer announced it would be laying off between 250 and 350 workers over the next 90 days at its Lehigh Valley Operations Center in Lower Macungie Township, Pa. The company said the plant would remain open despite the cuts to its workforce.
The round of layoffs is part of a larger move to downsize by parent company Volvo Group North America. The group said it plans to cut as many as 800 jobs at three facilities – the Mack site in Pennsylvania as well as at Volvo Group facilities in Dublin, Va., and Hagerstown, Md. – over the next three months.
Kimberly Pupillo, a spokesperson for Volvo Group North America, said the move was necessary in order to “align production with reduced demand for our vehicles.”
“Heavy-duty truck orders continue to be negatively affected by market uncertainty about freight rates and demand, possible regulatory changes and the impact of tariffs,” Pupillo said.
Democratic state Rep. Josh Siegel, who represents Pennsylvania’s 22nd District covering Lehigh County, said the layoffs will be a “devastating blow to Lehigh Valley workers” and a “clear signal of the dangerous economic instability” resulting from the Trump administration’s tariffs.
“Once again, American workers are being sacrificed at the altar of political theater. The tariffs – erratic, broad and poorly targeted – are crushing core U.S. industries like trucking and manufacturing. Supply chains are snarled, costs are soaring and confidence among employers is collapsing,” Siegel said in a statement. “Communities like the Lehigh Valley, built on generations of hard work and industrial pride, are now being asked to carry the burden of this administration’s incompetence. These are good-paying union jobs that our community cannot afford to lose.”
No timeline was given for when the layoffs would begin. LL