London Accuride plant closing, 200 to lose jobs: Union

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It is the end of an industrial era in London as one of the city’s most storied industries prepares to close its doors.

Accuride, on Firestone Boulevard, will shut down at the end of January cutting more than 200 jobs, said Luis Domingues, national representative for Unifor, the union representing workers. 

Accurride, in bankruptcy protection in the U.S., was looking for a buyer for the London plant that makes steel wheels for trucks, but did not find one, he said.

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“There will unfortunately be pain for families,” Domingues said.

“It is a difficult time. This has been in the community 56 years and it is not easy knowing your job will go down the drain.”

The union is negotiating severance packages for the workers but courts have to approve the agreement, as the firm is in bankruptcy protection. Many of its workers are not in the retirement window and will be looking for a new job, Domingues said.

“Hopefully, they will bargain in good faith and the courts will approve what is due to them. Most of the membership has only been there about 10 years.”

The union represents more than 180 workers at the plant, with the balance being non-union employees.

In October, Accuride announced it was restructuring its North American business and filed for protection under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy code and in Canada is reorganizing under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA.)

“The marketing process has concluded without a buyer, and therefore we have begun preparing for a wind-down of the plant. The timing of this is still to be determined and will depend, in part, on discussions with customers around final product requirements,” Grant Hatton, Accuride spokesperson, said Monday.

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Accuride cited a “softening market” for its product as well as rising costs.

 Accuride has been in business in London since 1968. It makes steel wheels for heavy and medium-duty commercial trucks and sells about 75 per cent of its production to GM. 

“It is sad. There is a lot of history there, a lot of good people. It has been a long time and has been a big part of the community,” said Jason Bates, general manager of the London Region Manufacturing Council.

“They have been on the verge of closing several times, but they have always kept going.”

The plant’s history dates further than 56 years, as the business that later became Accuride began operating in the 1880s to make barrels for  oil refineries. Later, the plant supplied brewers, meat packers and even the B.C. whaling industry, among others, Bates said, citing information from the London Regional Art and Historical Museum.

“In the 1950s, the company became a licensee of Firestone Steel of Akron, Ohio, for the manufacture of stainless steel beer barrels. In 1968, Firestone itself moved into Canada and built a new plant just off Clarke Road in east London. Heavy wheel rim production already was a large part of the plant’s output by 1986, when Accuride Canada bought the plant. Now, what was once a barrel company turns out thousands of rims for truck plants all over North America.”

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The closing is an exception in the manufacturing sector in the city, which is stable, now. No other plants are seeing a downsizing or facing closure, Bates said.

“There is a lull in hiring. It has levelled off, but we are not seeing cuts,” he said.

The Elgin Middlesex Oxford workforce planning and development board agrees the manufacturing sector in the city and region is stable, with job postings ranging from 125 to 185 from January to November in London and 196 to 313 for the region.

“This is specific to the sector,” Petrusia Hontar, director of the board, said of the Accuride closing. “We are not seeing this across the manufacturing sector. There is not expected to be a decline in manufacturing.” 

Kapil Lakhotia, chief executive of the London Economic Development Corp., said there is demand for workers on the LEDC’s own job board.

“The closure of Accuride marks a difficult moment for London’s manufacturing community and for the employees and families affected. Due to market shifts and changes within the parent company, we are sad to see the loss of this 50-year local employer,” he said.

“As we look to support those impacted through workforce transition programs, it is encouraging to know that over 60 local manufacturers are advertising for over 250 positions on londonmfgjobs.com as manufacturing investments continue around London and region.”

In 2016, Accuride was acquired by Crestview Partners, a New York–based private equity firm.

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