03/12/04
Union workers at 2 sites reviewing 8-year labor pact
Siemens VDO Automotive, which bought the two DaimlerChrysler electronics plants in Huntsville last month, expects to formally take over the plants April 1.
The roughly 1,700 union employees at the two plants are reviewing an eight-year labor agreement being offered by the company. Workers are also considering whether to take early retirement options or transfer to another DaimlerChrysler plant.
Siemens VDO is the automotive division of Siemens, Germany's largest electronics company.
Plants employ 2,400
The two plants employ an estimated 2,400 workers, including about 700 salaried and nonunion employees; they make dashboard, audio, engine and car-body electronics.
The plants generate about $1 billion in annual sales.
The plants are located in the Jetplex Industrial Park and Cummings Research Park.
The labor agreement calls for DaimlerChrysler employees to move over to Siemens VDO at their current wages, while new hires would come in at a lower "tier 2" pay rate, said Dave Ladd, a Siemens VDO spokesman.
Ladd said Siemens soon will begin advertising for "a few dozen" engineering and technical workers at the Huntsville plants. In announcing the purchase of the plants last month, Siemens officials said the company wants to develop an engineering center in Huntsville as part of an expanded research effort here.
Some 300 to 400 jobs are expected to be eliminated through retirement and those opting to stay with DaimlerChrysler, Ladd said.
Because workers are still reviewing the agreements, Ladd said he can't say exactly how many positions will be eliminated, but added that no layoffs are expected in the changeover.
The United Auto Workers international office in Detroit did not return a call Thursday seeking comment on the labor agreement, and staff at Local 1413 declined to comment.
The sale of the plants had been rumored for nearly two years, and the union had announced its opposition to the sale. But the UAW reached a new labor agreement with DaimlerChrysler in September that cleared the way for DaimlerChrysler to sell the plants.
Siemens VDO officials will be in Huntsville for a reception April 1. On April 2, management will unveil the new Siemens VDO signs in ceremonies announcing the company's formal presence here.