big layoff at Renton truck manufacturer Paccar

The_Tim

Dang. Paccar just laid off 430 workers in Renton, which according to the Seattle Times, is 87% of their staff at the Kenworth Renton plant:

Ángel González wrote:

Paccar will lay off 430 workers at its Renton Kenworth plant in January as it battles a crumbling market for heavy-duty trucks.

The company filed notice of the layoff today with the state Employment Security Department, said Sheryl Hutchison, communications director for the agency.

The company will stop making highway trucks at its Renton facility, and will produce only 2 off-highway trucks per day. As of last year, the company was building 18 trucks a day in Renton.

Don Hursey, directing business representative of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, District Lodge 160, said Friday that some 329 hourly workers and 92 management employees were being let go. About 66 employees will remain at the plant, he said.

Looks like deejayoh was right to be worried last year:

deejayoh wrote:

I worry about manufacturing. Boeing and Paccar are the two big employers, right?

Trucking is usually one of the first sectors to contract in a downturn

WestSideBilly

Trucks are very cyclical to begin with, and 2005-2006 were flagship years as every major fleet bought pre-2007 emissions models. Everyone in the industry knew 2007-2010 were going to be bad, no matter what the general economy did.

Also, Paccar also has Peterbilt (in Texas) and DAF (Europe), so this isn't pure capitulation.