Home » Dana Corp. to Move Some of its Gear Production to Mexico

Dana Corp. to Move Some of its Gear Production to Mexico

By wmadministrator

Officials with Dana Corp. have announced that the company plans to move primary gearing production from Glasgow to one of its Mexico facilities later this year.
The decision will mean the loss of 100 jobs at the Glasgow plant, which is part of Dana’s commercial vehicle unit and currently employs a total of 300-plus workers.
Dana recently emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy after a 23-month reorganization.  During that time, the company managed to attain more than $440 million in annual cost savings and revenue improvements. According to information on Dana’s Web site, those savings “were achieved primarily from improvements in its manufacturing footprint, reducing labor costs and benefit changes, working with labor and retiree groups.”

“The economy is such they’re going to have to move their primary production to Mexico,” Stephen Biggers, executive director of the Glasgow-Barren County Industrial Development Authority, told the Glasgow Daily Times. “Their reason for it, and they are very straightforward, is they have to be competitive. You are either competitive or you don’t survive.”

For Glasgow, the news of Dana’s decision has an all-too-familiar ring: In 2005, Johnson Controls moved its operations to Mexico, followed by SKF USA’s announcement to move part of its Glasgow operations to Puebla, Mexico.

However, at least for now, Dana will continue to have a presence in Glasgow. The company will be working with the United Steel Workers union on a study to identify new work that could help the Glasgow plant continue to operate profitably. If no work is identified, there is the possibility that the Glasgow plant could be closed, Dana officials said, but it would not be before the end of 2010.