Johnson Controls Inc. said it will lay off 110 of the 410 workers today at its plant in Columbia, Tenn., that makes seats and interior consoles for the new Chevrolet Traverse, according to the United Auto Workers, which represents the facility's hourly employees.
The new crossover utility vehicle is built at General Motors Corp.'s nearby plant in Spring Hill.
The layoffs are in response to GM's decision to trim production of the Traverse by about 20 percent as the automaker reduces capacity throughout its manufacturing plants because of extremely weak auto sales, said Michael O'Rourke, president of UAW Local 1853.
In addition to the layoffs, which are permanent, O'Rourke said, Johnson Controls will suspend all production at its Columbia plant from Jan. 5 to Feb. 9 to correspond with a shutdown of the Traverse assembly line at Spring Hill during much the same period.
The UAW local represents workers at both plants.
"Everything is driven by GM's schedule," O'Rourke said, adding that a 20 percent cut in Traverse production translates to roughly a 20 percent cut in production and jobs by all of the suppliers that make parts for the vehicle. Many of those are in the Columbia area.
The Johnson Controls facility, in the Maury County Industrial Park, hired its workers this past summer and began making the Traverse seats and consoles in early September when production of the vehicle began at Spring Hill.
Johnson Controls plant manager Robert Stecker declined to comment on the layoffs.
The UAW organized the plant after a brief strike in July, when the employees were still in training and only about 175 had been hired. The rest of the 410 workers were brought on board before production started in September.
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