Freightliner LLC, DaimlerChrysler’s North American heavy truck making subsidiary, is expected to announce Friday that it will close at least one of its two Canadian heavy truck assembly plants as part of a massive restructuring of its North American operations, reports the Toronto Globe and Mail.
The newspapers says that ‘either Freightliner’s Western Star Trucks operation in Kelowna, B.C., or its Sterling Truck facility in St. Thomas, Ont., will be closed’, citing industry sources.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Discover B2B Marketing That Performs
Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.
Freightliner officials refused to comment.
Freightliner is coming under severe financial pressure as the US heavy-duty truck market has turned down. The company is expected to post a loss of $1 billion this year, according to industry analysts.
DaimlerChrysler said on Wednesday it would present restructuring plans for its loss-making Freightliner unit in the next few days in an attempt to revive its latest troubled business area.
“We will make a statement about the restructuring measures (at Freightliner) in the coming days,” said a spokesman for DaimlerChrysler. He declined to be more specific.
Analysts expect a downsizing of the unit to boost its profitability and say job cuts and plant closures are likely.
|
