ELIZABETHTOWN, Ky. (AP) -- A Kentucky-based maker of brakes for automobiles has asked employees to take voluntary retirements and is not filling vacancies in an effort to reduce costs.
Akebono Brake Corp., an employer of 1,900 people nationally and about 950 workers at its Elizabethtown plant, is seeking to reduce costs as the automotive industry struggles.
Akebono produces brake calipers and friction materials, such as disc brake pads.
Akebono's Elizabethtown general manager Carl Lay says Akebono is managing the turbulent economic waters better than many competitors because it supplies brake components for seven of the top 10 cars sold in North America.
Akebono also has a development unit in Farmington Hills, Mich., and a plant in Glasgow, Ky.
