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Date Published: April 16, 2004
Bosch to close 2nd Sumter plant
420 jobs to relocate to Mexico
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Item file photo
Bosch
Braking Systems will close both of its plants in Sumter.
The two closings will cause more than 800 jobs to leave
the area. |
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By BRADEN BUNCH
Item Staff Writer
Bosch Braking Systems announced it will close its Sumter
plant and relocate to Mexico by 2006, taking with it about 420 more
jobs than previously believed.
The announcement — delivered
to employees by Hans Weckerle, president of the Chassis Division of
the Robert Bosch Corp., at the plant during a brief meeting Thursday
afternoon – comes less than three months after the German company
announced that around 400 jobs in the plant's drum brake division
would be relocating south of the border.
In January, company
officials said the vacuum booster plant, also in the Sumter
Industrial Complex off U.S. 15 South, would not be
affected.
Thursday's announcement means that around 820 jobs
will be leaving Sumter within the next 20 months.
Becky
MacDonald, a spokesperson for the company, said from her office in
Michigan that an internal cost-analysis of the Sumter business
showed that the South Carolina operation was simply too expensive to
be competitive.
"Early in the analysis process, it was pretty
clear we needed to relocate the rear brake business," MacDonald
said. "We're now finalizing the analysis and now it's pretty clear
that we need to relocate the vacuum booster business as
well."
MacDonald said the cost of operating the Sumter
locations continues to grow without any sign of easing.
"It
makes it extremely unprofitable for us to operate that facility,"
she said.
The local employees were apparently informed of the
plant-wide meeting Wednesday, but were not told what would be
discussed.
"Everybody had speculated that if one plant was
gone, then the other plant would eventually go, but they had told us
in January that they had no plans of it, that they didn't know
anything," said an employee who did not wish to
identified.
”He apologized, but he said that the company had
to make money,” the employee said of Weckerle’s
statement.
During the meeting, which the employee said lasted
five minutes at most, Weckerle informed the crowd that the company
would close its Gallatin, Tenn., plant by 2007.
MacDonald
confirmed the closing of the Tennessee plant, where about 625 people
are employed.
Company officials refused to answer employee
questions at the time of the meeting. MacDonald said the company
would start addressing employee concerns sometime early next
week.
“We’re devastated to have to make this decision,”
MacDonald said. “This is not about an underperforming plant. This is
not about underperforming employees. We have excellent employees.
This is just a very difficult decision.”
Gov. Mark Sanford,
who earlier in the day attended an event in Greenville where General
Electric announced it was adding 350 jobs, said he was disheartened
to hear of the Bosch announcement.
“We’ve said from day one
that keeping jobs and creating new jobs here in South Carolina is
this administration’s number one priority,” Sanford said, adding
that despite Thursday’s announcement, there have been several
positive announcements this year in Sumter.
“Obviously, not
every story every day is going to be a win, but this administration
is going to continue to aggressively push for income tax relief, and
other economic development reforms. We believe those reforms are
going to make a profound difference in South Carolina becoming more
competitive in creating jobs, raising income levels, and improving
quality of life for all our citizens,” Sanford said.
Steve
Rust, president of the Sumter County Development Board, said
Thursday that he had not heard about the decision until that
afternoon.
“We didn’t expect this, although when you look at
the overall world situation, you can’t say this is a huge surprise,”
Rust said. “The heyday in traditional manufacturing is coming to an
end. All you have to do is look around the county and look at the
decreasing numbers of manufacturing jobs.”
Still, Rust said
he believes there is potential for good news for Sumter County’s
economy in the future.
Project Trailblazer, the code name for
a health-product related manufacturer, is considering moving to the
area.
On Tuesday, Sumter County Council passed a tax
incentive resolution for the company that, were it to come to Sumter
County, would invest $107 million and bring 185 jobs.
Rust
said the Sumter area is competing with Ireland, Singapore and Utah
for the company, and should have an answer within 60 to 90
days.
Contact Staff Writer Braden Bunch at bradenb@theitem.com or
803-774-1222.
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