Cummins laying off 194 at Columbus MidRange Engine Plant By Boris Ladwig City Editor
Cummins Inc. will lay off 194 Columbus MidRange Engine Plant workers after Friday because Chrysler has completed its production ramp up for the 2010 Ram pickup truck, Cummins said.
After Friday, the plant, on Road 450S, will employ about 400, who will work in one shift.
Mark Land, executive director of corporate communications, said the company does not know the length of the layoffs.
In December, Cummins had said the two shifts would run at least through January because the main customer, Chrysler, wanted to have plenty of Cummins-powered 2010 Ram pickup trucks available.
CMEP is the exclusive supplier of the Ram Heavy Duty's 6.7-liter diesel engines.
Land said Chrysler now has a steady inventory to respond to demand and that engine orders therefore have fallen from the initial buildup period.
In May, Chrysler's bankruptcy and its idling of plants had resulted in Cummins halting production at CMEP and laying off 720.
Production resumed with 400 employees in mid-July, but Cummins idled the plant three weeks in August and September after finishing the production of engines for the 2009 model year.
Cummins recalled another 270 workers to CMEP in October and added a second shift to launch production on the 2010 engine.
Cummins and Chrysler about a month ago solidified their Ram partnership with a "multiyear extension" of the arrangement. The companies declined to provide specifics.
Land said the laid-off employees would be eligible to transfer to other Cummins plants if workers are needed there.
"It's too early to say how many or when that might happen," he said.
"We're really not through this recession yet."
