DMAX to cut 290 jobs

[Keith Browning]

Thursday, June 5, 2008 - 4:57 PM EDT

DMAX to cut 290 jobs at Moraine plant

 

Dayton Business Journal

 

 

DMAX Ltd., a diesel engine producer, is cutting 290 hourly workers at its Moraine plant, the company announced Thursday.

 

DMAX Ltd. is a joint venture between General Motors Corp. (NYSE: GM) and Isuzu Motors Ltd. and was established as a diesel engine company in 1998. It produces the 6.6L Duramax diesel engine, which is an option in heavy-duty pickup trucks and vans.

 

Based on current and forecasted market demand of the trucks and vans, production volumes at DMAX will be reduced by 28 percent, effective July 14, according to the announcement.

 

These volume related actions were taken to bring production capacity in line with market demand for heavy-duty full-size pickups.

 

DMAX production volume adjustments are a result of reduced requirements from the assembly plants it supplies in Pontiac and Flint, Mich., and are as a result of the shift reductions announced by GM, the company said.

 

The news comes just days after GM announced that the Moraine SUV and truck plant will close by 2010 or sooner, resulting in more than 2,400 lost jobs in the Dayton region.

 

There are about 996 hourly and 170 salary employees at the local DMAX plant. Hourly workers at the plant are represented by International Union of Electronic and Communication Workers of America Local 797.

 

A plant spokesperson said the job cuts will not impact the $69 million GM is investing in the plant to produce the new Duramax 6.6-liter V-8 turbo diesel engine to be produced at the plant by 2010.