JCI’s Automotive Branch Communications Director Debbie Lacey said that her firm waited to counter unofficial word of the closure to notify employees personally. “We expect to be closed by next summer and plan to use a phased approach to reduce our plant size and work force starting in November,”
Lacey added that she had no information if any jobs would be transferred to other facilities, including management and labor. The Cadiz plant currently produces car seats, and Lacey said that major production would shift to other plants in its “Just in Time” line of seating. She called it “premature” to comment on future plans for the company and the building and property owned by JCI in Cadiz.
Economic Development Commission Executive Director Sharon Butts said, “We’re just shocked, but it looked like this has been coming for some time. We’re focusing now on our recruiting efforts. It’s a long process that won’t happen overnight, but we hope to bring in a new business within the next year.”
According to Butts, the plant will be closed due to financial distress of key customers, energy prices, and the strength of the US currency exchange.
Butts added that she had not spoken to JCI’s management about the closure, though she planned to assist in their efforts to market the property and building once given permission to do so by the firm. “This building has the size and square footage other companies are looking for. I hate for the building to sit empty with no jobs in it.”
In a press release, Butts said that the quality of the workforce and its strong skill set could prove to be an asset in recruiting efforts and vowed to continue efforts to recruit new business and place laid-off employees into new positions.
Get the full story on the closure, layoffs and help available in The Cadiz Record.
