Aisin Holdings of America, Inc., announced on Friday that due to decreased business and anticipateddecreases in future business by their automotive customers, manufacturing the Aisin USA Manufacturing plant in Seymour is making employment reductions. Aisin Drivetrain and Aisin Chemical Indiana in Crothersville will be working reduced hours.
Aisin U.S.A. Mfg., Inc. in Seymour will be seeking a reduction of up to 11% of its workforce, according to Mark Handloser, senior manager of human resources for AUM. Aisin Drivetrain, Inc. and Aisin Chemical Indiana, LLC both in Crothersville will experience 4-day work weeks but no lay-offs at this time.
The three Aisin companies recently announced to all employees that they were offering an ‘Early Exit Incentive Program’ that included enhanced separation payments and extended insurance benefits based on their years of service with Aisin. Aisin U.S.A. Mfg., Inc. had offered the Early Exit Incentive Program to salaried members in December, which resulted in a 20% reduction. The program was then offered to hourly Team Members on Monday, January 26, to attempt to make an additional 11% reduction.
“Hopefully there will be enough interest in the Early Exit Incentive Program to attain the necessary reductions” said Mark Handloser, Senior Manager of Human Resourcesfor the Aisin companies. “If not, some companies will be implementing other measures such as Involuntary Temporary Time Off, which will include paid insurance benefits for a period of time and priority recall privileges once production demands begin to increase, which is anticipated to happen later this year.”
The duration of these reduced work schedules are unknown at this time.
Jim Plump of Jackson County Industrial Development Corp. said Friday the layoffs are another sign of a worsening economy, especially in the automotive sector. Carmakers across the board, both domestic and foreign, reported this week that sales were down sharply in December.
“This just continues to show the difficulty in the automotive industry,” Plump said. “We’re seeing the demands for autos go down, so the demand for new production is going down and the demand for goods from parts supplies is going down.”
“We appreciate the patience and understanding of our most important asset—our Team Members—as we navigate through these difficult times,” said Handloser.
