Hitachi Construction Truck Manufacturing Ltd. trims workforce by 58 in response to economic downturn
January 13, 2009
Rob O'Flanagan
Mercury Staff
GUELPH
Late last year, Guelph-based Hitachi Construction Truck Manufacturing Ltd. was gearing up to expand its business, company and union officials said yesterday.
What a difference a few months makes.
The manufacturer of large-scale heavy equipment confirmed yesterday it is laying off 58 workers. The move is a direct outcome of the global reduction in accessibility to credit and slumping commodity prices, company chief executive Walter Fox said in an interview. The majority of the company's sales are outside North America.
Read on...
Stories like this make the hair on the back of Peacenik's neck stand on end. They strike too close to home. How many more hits can the Guelph economy take before there are widespread consequences? If the auto industry isn't making a comeback, will Southwestern Ontario get hollowed out just like Michigan? That's the Michigan where houses are now selling for less than a hundred dollars. And there still aren't buyers. Guelph and Southwestern Ontario need a plan now. Peacenik hasn't seen one.
