TDS Automotive announced last week plans to close its Oxford Village plant June 25 and permanently lay off the nearly 100 workers employed there.
The closing of the 201 E. Drahner Road facility was announced in an April 8 press release from TDS Automotive, which is headquartered in London, Ontario, Canada.
TDS Automotive provides material logistical services to the automotive industry, which includes subassembly, sequencing and export packaging, supply-chain management, parts distribution and packaging engineering and design.
It’s customers include BMW, Daimler Chrysler, Ford, General Motors and Volkswagen.
TDS Automotive’s Oxford plant, which opened in July 1997, provides logistical services to the GM plant in Orion Township, according to Grant Barker, TDS Executive Vice President of Corporate and Legal Affairs.
Andrea Kremm, assistant to TDS Human Resources Manager Mitchell Greenwald, said the plant is closing because TDS Automotive lost the bid to handle GM’s logistical services to a rival company.
In the press release, David Inman, Vice President of UAW Local 9699, said the plant closing will affect ‘close to 100 of our members who live as far north as Flint and Mt. Morris and south into Detroit.?
About 20 of those being laid off are residents of the Oxford/Addison area, according to Kremm.
‘The rest are mostly from Flint,? she said.
‘Obviously we are very upset over the closure,? Inman said in the released statement. ‘However, these individuals are very hard workers and dedicated to providing for their families. . .They will land on their feet and prove to be a valuable asset to their new employers.?
‘We know this is a very difficult time for our production employees, salaried staff and their families,? said Greenwald in the press release. ‘We will do everything possible to assist them in finding new employment.?
An ‘Employee Assistance Team? is meeting on a weekly basis and ‘working to identify employee needs in order to provide resources, opportunities and available training to help the dislocated workers find new employment,? according to the press release.
‘The Team is actively engaging local and state agencies to assist with unemployment services, job skills and training workshops, educational opportunities and other vital community services to assist their fellow workers,? the statement said.
Members of the Employee Assistance Team are encouraging employers to contact the Oxford Michigan Works Service Center at (248) 969-2399 to discuss their labor force needs and possibly match their needs with the skill sets of TDS workers.