More Job Cuts In Auto Related Industries

There's more bad economic news to tell you about from McMinn County which will lose even more jobs connected with the automotive industry..

ThyssenKrupp will cut more than 100 jobs from it's Waupaca plant that manufactures brakes and chassis parts for cars and trucks. It's in Etowah, a small town in McMinn County that's home to about four thousand people.

Even though Volkswagen is building an auto plant in our region and enjoying an increase in sales worldwide, American companies like Chrysler, Ford and General Motors are loosing billions of dollars, closing plants and laying off workers. And that's having a major impact on suppliers like ThyssenKrupp in Etowah.

Plant employee Ozzy Harris said "it's just sad the economy is in the state that it's in right now."

Harris said he feels lucky to keep his job as 113 of his co-workers are getting the bad news. Their jobs are gone as of August 30th, leaving just 392 of 505 employees working.

Harris says ThyssenKrupp's Waupaca foundry makes brake and chassis parts for Ford, General Motors and Chrysler. German-owned ThyssenKrupp bought the plant from Waupaca a few years ago, which built the foundry promising hundreds of jobs back in 2000.

During the early years of production business was good and there were plans to expand the plant. But in the last year the U.S. auto industry went into the tank and so did orders for things like brake and chassis components.

ThyssenKrupp's spokesperson Christian Koenig said from Washington D.C. "we've been affected like everyone else in the auto industry." Koenig went on to say ThyssenKrupp is experiencing it's "lowest level of production since 1992."

We waited outside the Etowah foundry to speak with employees about the jobs being cut but many employees didn't want to make any comments on camera.

But Harris didn't mind sharing his feelings about his co-workers who are being forced to leave.

"People are going to have to do the best they can and find a couple low paying jobs, two or three jobs just to try and make ends meet," Harris said.

Of course there's hope from Volkwagen's new plant in Chattanooga but it won't be ready for production for two years.

When we asked Harris if he thinks that's good news in the long run he said "I believe so, you know a couple years down the road hopefully they'll become one of our customers and that'll help us out as well."

Wednesday afternoon we spoke with Durant Tullock, Executive Director for the Etowah Chamber of Commerce, who said some of the displaced workers will be offered jobs at ThyssenKrupp's plant in Tel City, Indiana.

But for the other workers Tullock said they will be setting up meetings with the Tennessee Career Center in Athens to get displaced workers into other jobs.

Tullock added there are several auto industry related companies scouting sites for plants near Etowah that could supply Volkswagen with parts, but declined to name who they are or how solid those leads may be.