Detroit’s ills send chills through Mexico’s auto industry

Chicago Tribune, 2/17/2009

Ford Fusion Hybrid - Sam VarnHagen/Ford Motor Co

After years of benefiting from its cheap, skilled labor and proximity to the U.S., Mexico is feeling the effects of the decline of Detroit’s automakers. Nearly every auto plant in Mexico, including General Motors Corp.’s and Chrysler LLC’s, has instituted temporary shutdowns.

In December, the Ford plant in Cuautitlan Izcalli on the industrial outskirts of Mexico City ended production, costing about 650 workers their jobs.

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VW lays off 800 workers in Mexico

BBC, 1/29/2009

German car manufacturer Volkswagen (VW) has said it will cut 800 jobs at its Mexican plant in Puebla, the site that produces the firm’s Beetle model.

Production in Mexico could be cut by up to 20% this year after VW admitted it was considering further layoffs. The plant employs about 9,400 people.

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Mexico’s Cemex closes U.S. plant, lays off workers

Reuters, 1/9/2009

Mexico’s Cemex, the world’s No. 3 cement maker, is shutting another U.S. plant and laying off workers as the U.S. recession deepens, the company said on Friday. The Davenport plant in California, which produces just under 1 million tonnes of cement a year, has been hurt by a sharp decline in new home construction in the state and cement demand is expected to further decrease, Cemex said.

“Based on the current recession and these market conditions, we’ve had to make some hard decisions and will be temporarily ceasing operations at the plant effective March 9, 2009 … until conditions improve,” Cemex said in an e-mail to Reuters.

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