(Sumter) Jan. 24, 2004 - Bosch Corporate officials announced that about 400 employees at the Bosch drum brake plant will be jobless by Spring 2005. WIS News 10 spoke with an employee at that meeting. She asked WIS to conceal her identity and call her Jane.
The Robert Bosch Corporation has three major automotive manufacturing facilities in South Carolina. It has plants in Anderson, Charleston and Sumter. The Sumter facility currently employs around 820 workers. Almost half of the workforce, around 400 employees are expected to be laid off with the Sumter braking system plant closing by the Spring of 2005.
Jane says she wasn't expecting good news at Saturday's morning meeting, "We had an idea that it wasn't good news, but we weren't expecting this. This was a shock because we've been told we've been doing good."
Jane says she's numb and disappointed at what she heard an Saturday's employee meeting, "A man addressed us and said he had a memo to read to us that would take about five minutes. And no question would be asked at this time."
The memo informed Jane and hundreds of her coworkers that the plant is closing.
Jane says everyone was surprised, "Everybody just got up in shock, and some started crying."
The fact that the division is moving to Mexico makes the loss even more devastating for this woman, "You're sending our job somewhere else, this isn't helping our economy."
The drum brake plant has been a fixture in Sumter for 22 years. Bosch is one of the largest employers in Sumter. According to the US Department of Labor, Sumter's unemployment rate is 7.3 percent, which is higher than the state average of 6.9 percent.
Bosch Spokesperson Becky MacDonald said in a phone interview, "The automotive industry is facing challenging cost pressures. In Sumter, our drum brakes business has been unprofitable for years."
There will be small group sessions held between management and employees Monday morning. The goal of these meetings will be to discuss out-placement assistance.
After 20 years with the company this employee isn't sure what's next for her and her family, "I know I lived before Bosch. I will live again."
Bosch also has a booster vacuum plant in Sumter. Employees at that facility will not be affected.
Reported by Nicole Bell
Updated 10:35pm by Eva Pilgrim
