Ford Motor Co. announced plans to close its Norfolk
truck plant earlier than expected. One of two shifts
at the plant will be dropped permanently in January,
and production of F-150 trucks will cease in late 2007,
a year earlier than originally announced. Currently,
2,355 workers are employed at the facility. Ford is
undergoing a significant reorganization, with plans
to cut 30,000 hourly jobs in North
America by the end of 2008. (The Virginian-Pilot)
Gildan Activewear Inc.,
a Canadian apparel maker, will lay off 61 workers at
its Hillsville plant, leaving 239 employees at the
operation. The company is also closing two plants in Mount
Airy, N.C., cutting 268 jobs,
and laying off 211 workers in Canada. The company plans to shift the work to
Central America and the Caribbean. (The
Associated Press)
Mid-Atlantic Coca-Cola Bottling Co. of Columbia, Md., plans to close a sales and distribution operation in Winchester
with a loss of 50 jobs. The company is shuttering
a similar faculty in York, Pa.,
which employs 78 people. (The Winchester
Star)
