Rayloc Morganfied production plant closing - News Article Locations on Waymarking.com

Rayloc workers in shock
Reported closing would affect 421
By Chuck Stinnett - Evansville Courier and Press reporter
Friday, August 8, 2008

MORGANFIELD, Ky. — Employees at Union County's largest industrial employer, the Rayloc auto parts plant in Morganfield, were told Thursday the plant will cease manufacturing operations in October.

No public statement was issued, but employees who attended a mandatory plantwide meeting Thursday morning indicated 421 workers will be laid off in October, not counting several dozen temporary workers.

"It's pretty devastating," said Paul Monsour, executive director of the Union County First economic development organization. "It was a shock."

"Rayloc was not in any way, shape or form on our list" of industries for which there were fears of a shutdown, said Kevin Sheilley, president and CEO of the Northwest Kentucky Forward regional economic development organization.

Layoffs will occur between Oct. 13 and Oct. 31, employees who attended the meeting said.

The facility will continue to operate a distribution center, employing a fraction of the current work force.

The plant, which opened in 1974, remanufactures automotive parts such as brake calipers, starter motors and alternators that are sold at NAPA auto parts stores.

Rayloc is a division of Genuine Parts Co., an Atlanta-based company that is the nation's largest distributor of NAPA auto parts. On Wednesday, Genuine Parts reported companywide sales and net profits were up from a year ago when it reported sales of $10.8 billion and net profits of $506.3 million.

Jerry Nix, Genuine's vice chairman and chief financial officer, didn't return a phone message seeking comment early Thursday afternoon.

A phone message left at the Morganfield plant's human relations department also was not returned. All employees reportedly were sent home for the day, and the plant was closed.

Union County Judge-executive Jody Jenkins said he was visited by several employees, but he still is waiting to hear officially from Rayloc.

"I don't think anyone knows in great detail what will come out of this," he said, noting the uncertainties of issues ranging from how many employees will remain doing distribution work and whether employees will receive severance packages.

"We're still going to stick behind everybody as much as a community can and try to put things in place to make it as palatable as we can," Jenkins said.

"I hear from some of those employees that they've been there 15, 18, 25 years," Jenkins said. "Those are good quality employees" that hopefully can find work elsewhere."

The company tentatively has scheduled "career fairs" in Morganfield on Sept. 25-26 and on Oct. 23-24, presumably to help workers find new jobs.

Meanwhile, a state Rapid Response team has scheduled a meeting with Rayloc management today, Sheilley said.

The team will include representatives of the Green River Area Development District, the Henderson Community College adult education program, the state employment service and the state and local economic development agencies.

Their purpose is "to assist employees when their jobs are lost," particularly in the case of the closing of a large facility, Sheilley said.

In addition to the economic hardship for laid-off employees, the loss of more than 400 jobs will be felt throughout the community.

Rayloc and its employees were the biggest contributors to Union County's United Way drive.

"They were close to 25 percent of our campaign last year," Chairman Mike Obert said.

Last year, Rayloc made a $915,000 investment at the plant that was expected to create 50 more jobs, according to a Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development report.

Four years ago, the company dedicated a $3 million, 110,000-square-foot warehouse at its plant, which Rayloc President Terry White said would enable the company to modernize other parts of the facility.

While occasional rumors circulated in Union County concerning Rayloc's future, "We got a very positive response from (plant management)," White said.

However, in January the company announced it would cease production at a Rayloc plant in Hancock, Md., in March and lay off 260 people.

And there had been recent layoffs at the Morganfield plant. Earlier this summer, the company had about 570 full-time and temporary employees, according to Monsour. That slipped to 540 as of last Friday.

It wasn't clear Thursday whether other Rayloc facilities will be affected.

The recent layoffs had reduced Rayloc's standing to the county's second-largest employer in Union County, behind Patriot Coal Co. Patriot's Highland and Dodge Hill mines together employ nearly 600 people, according to a state report.

n Union County Advocate Editor Carrie Dillard contributed to this report.

Type of publication: Newspaper When was the article reported?: 08/08/2008 Publication: Evansville Courier and Press Article Url: [Web Link] Is Registration Required?: no How widespread was the article reported?: national News Category: Business/Finance

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