Sumter brake plant to lay off 400 workers

SUMTER, S.C. - A brake manufacturer plans to cut nearly half its workforce here by 2005 and move part of its operations to Mexico, company officials said Saturday.

About 400 of 820 employees at Bosch Braking System will be laid off, said Bosch communication spokeswoman Becky MacDonald. The Sumter facility has struggled to turn profits for years, and the automotive industry is facing tough cost pressures, MacDonald said.

Employees will be laid off beginning in April, she said.

Bosch Braking Systems makes drum brakes and vaccum boosters. The drum brake part of the plant will be relocated to a facility in Mexico while the vacuum boosters will continue to be made in Sumter, MacDonald said.