Cape's Dana plant, 4 others studied for 2002 closings

Dana Corporation's Spicer Axle Division plant in Cape Girardeau, a two-time winner of the Chamber of Commerce Industry of the Year award, is among five plants being evaluated by the company for closures.

The Toledo-based company announced Wednesday it will cut 11,000 jobs, or about 15 percent of its work force, through plant closings and consolidations. The announcement followed the company's third-quarter report that reflected a declining market for its auto parts manufacturing division.

The division has five manufacturing plants, which are part of Dana's Traction Technology Group, and only three or four are needed, said Larry Dillon, manager of the Cape Girardeau plant. One or two of the plants could face closure by mid-2002, he said.

Dillon said in addition to the plant here, plants at Jonesboro, Ark., Greensboro, N.C., Fort Wayne, Ind., and Syracuse, Ind., are being evaluated. Dana has a plant at Columbia, Mo., but it is an assembly plant and is not being evaluated for closure. The Cape Girardeau plant sends parts to Columbia for assembly.

Dillon said the evaluations are expected to be completed by the first of the year.

The Cape Girardeau plant, which opened more than a decade ago, employs 377 people. Twenty-nine workers have been laid off, and another 26 will be laid off next week.

"This is expected," said Dillon. "We have layoffs from time to time, but workers still receive about 80 percent of their salary on layoff," he said.

Employees here are aware the plant is being evaluated, but those contacted declined to comment.

These are tough times for the auto industry, said Dillon. The reductions come on top of about 10,000 job cuts over the past two years because of an oversupply of vehicles and slow U.S. sales.

"We have devoted significant effort to scaling back our operations for lower production forecasts," said Dana chairman Joe Magliochetti. "Unfortunately, recent events require that we quicken the pace and make even further reductions."

Dana is one of the world's largest suppliers of components, modules and complete systems to vehicle manufacturers and related businesses worldwide. Founded in 1904, the company operates 300 plants in 34 countries and employs more than 75,000 people.

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