Magna International will continue to wind down its Syracuse, New York, New Process Gear plant because it would still be unsustainable even if it qualified for US government aid, according to a company memo to staff yesterday cited by a Toronto newspaper.


US senator Charles Schumer, a Democrat from New York, had said earlier this week he was interested in crafting an aid package to help save the New Process Gear plant, which employs 1,400 people, possibly drawing on US$5m in loans recently allocated by Congress for parts makers.


But staff have twice refused to accept concessions to keep the plant open and even with government aid, “NPG would remain uncompetitive and is not sustainable,” Greg Deveson, a Magna executive, said in the memo posted on the Syracuse Post-Standard website and confirmed to the Globe and Mail by Magna.