Stoddard County auto parts plant to lay off about 150

DEXTER, Mo. -- About 150 employees of Dexter's Faurecia plant are included in a planned layoff, according to Stacie Tong, director of communications for Faurecia North America. Many of those have already left their positions. More are expected to follow, according to Tong.

The director of communications said this week that the reduction in staff is due to the company reorganizing some of its production activities.

Despite the current layoffs, the news is not all bad.

"This means that some business will be moving to other Faurecia Emissions Controls Technologies plants," Tong said, "and other work will be coming to Dexter between now and the end of 2012."

The 150 positions affected during the three-month time frame include eligible employees who may choose to take an early retirement package.

"Benefits for those affected will be in accordance with the UAW agreement and Faurecia will work with each employee to help ease the transition," said Tong.

The local plant increased its workforce dramatically in 2010 after a massive layoff in 2008 through 2009. All of those personnel, however, were called back to work in the summer of 2009, and approximately 400 additional employees were hired as well to fulfill work that was newly contracted just before the sale of the company from EMCON in February 2010 to the French-based Faurecia.

Then, in January 2011, the company announced plans to reduce the staff to 500 employees from what was then around 1,000 strong. That layoff period ran from March through September 2011. Several of the senior employees at that time were offered benefit packages in accordance with their years of service. Many accepted that offer.

In 1973, the local exhaust emissions manufacturer opened its doors in Dexter under the name Arvin Industries. Later the Meritor name was added to the mix, and the name became ArvinMeritor, Inc. That name changed in May 2007 when One Equity Partners, a New York based firm, announced the acquisition of ArvinMeritor's Emissions Technologies Group in a $310 million transaction.

ArvinMeritor then became EMCON Technologies and operated as such until the Faurecia purchase. Faurecia took ownership of the local plant in February 2010. The transaction made Faurecia the world leader in emissions control technologies.

The company is the sixth largest international automotive parts manufacturer in the world. Faurecia develops and produces entire exhaust systems from the manifold to the tail pipe as well as automotive seating, interior systems, and automotive exteriors. The company has operations in 32 countries at 200 sites and employs about 62,000 people.

Pertinent address:

Dexter, MO