Subaru-Isuzu To Lay Off 215 Workers At Indiana Plant

LAFAYETTE, Ind. AP reported that Subaru-Isuzu Automotive Inc. plans to lay off 215 workers, or 4.8% of its work force, due to slumping sales of Isuzu sport-utility vehicles.

Company officials announced Thursday that they would idle the truck assembly line at the Lafayette plant for two months, curtailing production of 6,000 Rodeo, Rodeo Sport and Axiom SUVs. Production of the better-selling Subaru will continue.

Isuzu Motors Ltd. has access to half the production capacity at the plant, which was built in the late 1980s with Subaru owner Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. .

Through June, Isuzu had sold 28,763 vehicles in the U.S., down from 50,434 in the first half of 2001.

Layoffs are scheduled to begin Sept. 2 and will be reviewed after six months.

"The way the economy is right now, it's not an optimistic picture," said Tom Easterday, Subaru-Isuzu's vice president of human resources and corporate affairs and general counsel.

Subaru-Isuzu eliminated overtime, cut 60 temporary positions and reduced production in May, June and July, along with other cost-cutting measures.

The plant employs about 2,200 production and 900 salaried workers.