http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x2814983Oh my.
The burdened primitive, originally from Michigan, spent the 1970s working in a "good job" down there in Texas, but got laid off in 1978, and moved back to Michigan, where he worked as a clerk in an auto-parts store until he was laid off last year.
Tyler Durden (1000+ posts) Mon Feb-04-08 08:44 AM
Original message
My old employer, a HUGE auto supplier, has declared bankruptcy.
http://www.lsj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080203/...
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120191689484637205.html...
Plastech Engineered Products Inc., one of the country's largest minority-owned auto suppliers, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Friday evening in Michigan., after efforts to negotiate a bailout package from customers apparently faltered.
Plastech was dealt a blow Friday when Chrysler LLC canceled its purchase orders with the $1.3 billion maker of plastic auto parts like center consoles.
Chrysler spokesman Kevin Frazier said the automaker, which was Plastech's fourth-largest customer, also began to take their tooling out of Plastech plants.
Like other auto suppliers who have filed for Chapter 11, Plastech was caught between rising costs and falling demand for the products in which its parts are used. The cost of plastic, dependent on an oil-based resin, increases along with oil prices. Detroit's auto makers typically have resisted paying more for a part and have instead insisted on lower prices over the life of a supply contract.
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Normally, I'm not too opposed to gloating, but having a lot of friends still at PLASTECH, this is very bittersweet.
True, they did me VERY dirty, to the point that I'm skirting the brink of a (very small) settlement agreement by saying that. But I worked with people there through boom, buyout and bust, and it's a sad comment on the condition of the country that these hard working people are going to hit the streets in an already badly stressed state and city.
If any of them were closer to where I am now, I'd already be making calls, trying to get people jobs.
By the way, two questions for the burdened primitive:
1) who was president in 1978?
2) who's the Republican governor of Michigan right now?
Anyway.
fasttense (1000+ posts) Mon Feb-04-08 08:53 AM
Response to Original message
1. And those parts can be made so much more cheaply in Asia and Eastern Europe.
Where those pesky environmental laws can be disregarded, not to mention fair labor standards can be ignored.
If we had tariffs on imports that compensated for these unethical practices by foreign countries, we would still be making most auto parts in the US.
Tyler Durden (1000+ posts) Mon Feb-04-08 08:58 AM
Response to Reply #1
2. The owners of PLASTECH were no angels...
But there are close to 10,000 workers who bear no guilt for the actions of owners.
Just more Proles for the minimum wage workpool.
Uh-oh.
The burdened primitive just dissed.....gasp.....black people.
MindPilot (1000+ posts) Mon Feb-04-08 09:44 AM
Response to Original message
3. Is that the company started by the father of the guy who runs Blackwater?
Or am I thinking of something else? I know it was a major supplier of automotive interior parts.
leftchick (1000+ posts) Mon Feb-04-08 09:53 AM
Response to Reply #3
4. Eric Prince's father made his millions off the lighted flip mirror on a car visor.
MindPilot (1000+ posts) Mon Feb-04-08 03:05 PM
Response to Reply #4
5. Thank you! Prince--that's the name I couldn't recall.
Edgar Prince started Prince Automotive with the lighted vanity mirror as one of it's flagship products, and the company soon became a major supplier of interior components for the big three. Erik didn't have much interest in car stuff so he sold the company to Johnson Controls and used the money to start Blackwater.
Javaman (1000+ posts) Mon Feb-04-08 03:30 PM
Response to Original message
6. as the ball of shit rolling down hill gathers momentum, it gets bigger and bigger picking up more bodies and corporate detris as it speeds up.
Lone_Star_Dem (1000+ posts) Mon Feb-04-08 03:51 PM
Response to Original message
7. It gets more bitter: Chrysler Shuts 4 Plants After Ending Parts Contract
More hard working peoples jobs could be effected it would appear.
Feb. 4 (Bloomberg) -- Chrysler LLC, the third-largest U.S. automaker, temporarily halted production at four assembly plants after revoking contracts with a supplier of plastic parts.
The Feb. 1 cancellation came a month after Chrysler threatened to end its agreements, said Kevin Frazier, a spokesman for Chrysler. Later that day, the supplier, Plastech Engineered Products Inc., filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
``It's highly unusual,'' said James Gillette, a supplier analyst with CSM Worldwide Inc. of Northville, Michigan. ``It must have been a pretty serious situation to come to this.''
Chrysler also attempted to recover tooling from Plastech to ensure an ``uninterrupted flow'' of parts, said Frazier. Plastech makes interior and exterior parts as well as engine components for the Auburn Hills, Michigan-based automaker.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aWd...
I guess Chrysler feels their $17 million dollar investment in keeping Plastech up and running is in jeopardy.
