American Axle's East Delavan Avenue plant is the city's largest factory by number of employees.
CEO confirms idling of Buffalo's American Axle plant
Fred O. Williams - News Business Reporter
Updated: 07/27/07 3:35 PM
The long-rumored idling of the American Axle & Manufacturing plant on Delavan Avenue in Buffalo was confirmed by the company's chief executive today.
Chief Executive Richard Dauch confirmed during a conference call that production at the 650-job plant would be phased out. The idling of the plant had been discussed previously with United Auto Worker union leaders, but the company had not confirmed it until today.
Union leaders said they would work to secure the best severance packages they could for the workers. The union has said the closing is timed to coincide with the expiration of the current contract in March, 2008.
Dauch said the company is continuing to do more work in its plants outside the U.S.
American Axle operates two other plants in the region, one in Cheektowaga and the other in Tonawanda. The company has not discussed changes at those plants.
The confirmation of the plant idling came during a conference call about earnings. The company said second-q...
The writing was on the wall 6 or 7 years ago when AM AXL announced it was building a plant in MEXICO. DICK DAUCH made the promises necessary to buy the business, now its all abot $$$. Where is his loyalty, the same loyalty he expected from the workers when he took over fron GM??Originally Posted by VegasDude
This was a given.
Exactly. He's looking to line his pockets further. The man is scum who talks out of both sides of his mouth.
American Unions....Just a call away if you are looking for a good severance package.
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Quick offer the civil service employees a raise, maybe am axl will stay
Every company wants to be part of a successful city...and you cant have a successful city with under paid civil service workers. Quick raise taxes and give our civil service employees more money and benefits maybe am axl will stay.
Its common sense....everyone knows if you want the smartest students in the world then you have to have the highest paid teachers and the heaviest educational buracracy in the world....then be patient for decades for test results to show an improvement.
We can fix anything with more buracracy, higher taxes and higher wages for government employees.
where are the 650+ suppose to find a job in WNY ?
that's more then 650 familys = about 2,000 people that will be Packing up and leaving WNY,
Yeah, Timmy's right. We should give big tax breaks to big business, and they'll come flocking to the area and hire *lots* of people! Then we'll just watch as they take the tax break, hire a few people, and continue to line their pockets daily and then close up shop. Oh wait, we already tried that route didn't we...
Gotta love NAFTA!
I do not think all of them will leave but anytime you have a few hundred people lose there jobs it stings a little.
The system is not the best.....If a company pulls out of an area then any buildings that have received insentive should be turned over to the town and then auctioned off with all proceeds going towards paying back the incentives given.
Ingram Micro is a perfect example of a company that road onto Wherle Drive and all but demanded tax breaks and assistance to expand and build a new building. The company hired no where near as many people they projected and ended up selling the new building they built and laying off over 1000 people AFTER LOTS OF MONEY HAD BEEN GIVEN TO THEM!
The solution is to get rid of the damn incentives and lower all the taxes. When you lower taxes to bring in new companies, you're punishing all the companies, and residents, that are already there.
Why beat your older dog just because you've got a new pup?
"At a minimum, a head of state should have a head."- Vladimir Putin
Don't feel sorry for those who are going to have to find new employment. If they so choose.
There was a healthy buy out and incentive packages offered to the employees. Dependent upon your seniority would depend on the incentive you would be offered.
My neighbor who work at American Axle for ten years or more made out well enough on his incentive he was able to move south. He will not have to find employment for at least two years and still be comfortable enough to buy a new home.
I won't loose sleep over those who are going to loose there jobs.
What is most troubling is the whining about NAFTA and not the over paid Unionites that cost themselves jobs. Being unable to compete in the global market will do that for you when you MUST compete on a global scale.
My husband took the buyout and we certainly don't have enough to live on for 2 years plus buy a house. I think he's telling a tall tale.
Wow, aren't you a compassionate person.I won't loose sleep over those who are going to loose there jobs.
This quote is most troubling because its not about unions exclusively. Its civil service unions that are the real problem. Unless you know of a municipality, county or state that can move offshore....there is no equality of negotiation with civil service unions...no consideration for the taxpayer in negotiations....no consideration for ability to pay or consideration of other factors like unemployment rate, private sector job growth, comparision to national averages, etc. SO PLEASE SAVE YOUR RATH FOR THOSE THAT DESERVE IT....CIVIL SERVANTS!
Whining over NAFTA and paid unionites costing themselves jobs. Well there is certainly evidence of union incalcitrance we see over at Delphi but from the days of Alexander Hamilton, nor Britain, France, Germany, etc would have dreamed of lowering the wages of its nations workers to that of india, china, indonesia while their ruling class kept the money. They knew it would have led to bloody revolution.
However, what he have is americans and europeans paying between $3 and $8 per gallon for gasoline and similar expensive rates for home and business energy.....while developing countries subsidize fuel to pennies to incentivize steel mills, manufacturing and US style cars & highways.
However, what we have is foreign countries manipulating their currencies to underprice their goods and services for export
However, what we have is foreign countries with weak environmental laws and a tax system that taxes imports and credits exports via a national sales tax which the US does not have.
However, what we have is foreign countries with national health care and pension system which is again paid for by a national sales tax on imports (credit exports) instead of putting this burden on employers via a payroll tax again making their workers less expensive on a global scale.
In the US we still tax production (as if it was 1850 or 1950) when our economy is no longer about production....we are a consumer economy and we need to tax consumption.
Not to mention that we (the US) is allowing in 30-40 million illegals all of whom qualify for various taxpayer welfare...and disqualifying millions of US citizens from their social safety net. No Im not talking about the little monkeys that refuse to take school seriously...but the people who worked at jobs...only to see those jobs exported and have to many assets to qualify for any help.
So...unless you are willing to be fair...about the underlying causes for our social bankruptcy....of which unions are but a factor....the majority of the problem is pure and simple US policy.
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