Workers must pick retirement, transfer or new company
02/09/04
Siemens VDO Automotive announced this morning it has purchased the Huntsville Chrysler electronics plants, which employ about 2,400 people.
Terms of the deal were not announced and it is expected to be finalized in the spring. The Huntsville plants make dashboard, audio, engine and car body electronics and generate about $1 billion in annual sales.
The work force includes more than 1,700 United Auto Workers union members, at two locations, Jetplex Industrial Park and Cummings Research Park.
John Sanderson, president and CEO of Siemens VDO Automotive's NAFTA region, said the deal was a "success story," in an era when U.S. manufacturing operations are shutting down and moving away.
"Here's a story that says DaimlerChrysler and Siemens VDO and the UAW came together," Sanderson said. "Fully recognizing the global competition in the electronics manufacturing business, we worked really hard over many month and developed a forward-looking business plan that allowed for a viable business for Huntsville for the long term."
The long-rumored sale means plant workers now have to decide whether to take a retirement package through DaimlerChrysler, transfer to another DaimlerChrysler plant or go to work for Siemens VDO, the automotive division of Germany's largest electronics company.
Dave Ladd, a Siemens VDO spokesman, said workers will be considering those options over the next 20-30 days. Ladd said there would be a workforce reduction at the plant, but he said the company does not yet have specifics on those reductions. Ladd said new hiring may also result from attrition in the current work force.
Sanderson said the company will increase the level of engineering research and development work in Hunts-ville. That will include recruiting engineers and technical staff, as well as bringing in Siemens VDO engineers from Detroit and Germany.
Siemens VDO employs about 60,000 workers in the U.S.
Chrysler said it sold the operation because it wants to focus on assembling cars and trucks.
Siemens hopes to use its new proximity to a number of automakers in the Southeast to expand its manufacturing business. Sanderson said many of those companies are already customers of Siemens, and the opportunity to expand relationships, including common designs for Europe and the United States, will provide major opportunities.
No one from the UAW Local 1413 was available for comment this morning.
In the Siemens press release, a local United Auto Workers representative said the deal is good for the Huntsville workers.
"We are encouraged by the commitment that Siemens VDO Automotive has made to our UAW members in Huntsville and are eager to work with the company to ensure long-term employment and success at the Huntsville facility," said Gary Casteel, UAW Region 8 Director.
Siemens reported workers at the Huntsville plants will continue to be represented by the UAW.