Delphi to close doors next week

Nearly 100 full-time employees to be placed in layoff status

By Lee AndersonFriday, August 24, 2007

Production at the Wichita Falls Delphi plant will grind to a halt late next week, a Delphi corporate spokesman said.

"We anticipate completing manufacturing at this site next week ...by the end of the week," said Lindsey Williams, Delphi media contact for labor, manufacturing and environmental at corporate headquarters in Troy, Mich.

There currently are about 100 full-time employees working at the plant as production winds down.

"We expect that, at this time, production employees will be placed in layoff status or in the job bank (indefinite layoff status)," Williams explained.

In light of the impending layoffs, Workforce Resource has made resources available to those affected by the closing.

Mona Statser, the executive director of Workforce Resource, said her agency arranged for Consumer Credit Counseling Services of Greater Dallas to hold financial workshops for local Delphi employees, which were held Aug. 7.

Brenda Kemp, a certified counselor for CCCS, said only 10 workers from Delphi participated in the sessions.

"The sessions were about how to prepare for job loss and to make sure you have enough money set aside for expenses," Kemp explained. "We went over the emotional effects of going through a job loss, for the individual and family."

Workforce Resource also earlier held orientation sessions for the workers to explain what services they are eligible for, Statser explained.

Also, Tim Chase, president of the Wichita Falls Board of Commerce & Industry, said the BCI has been in direct contact with Delphi's real estate division concerning the building.

"We are continuing to look for a user for the property," he said. "We are doing everything we can to find a company to make use of the building."

The Wichita Falls facility was opened in 1977 as AC Sparkplug and General Motors spun off Delphi in 1999.