EAST SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) -- U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer says the owners of an upstate New York auto-parts plant have agreed to meet with federal officials to discuss a last-minute aid package that could keep New Process Gear from closing.
Schumer says the plant could receive some of the $5 billion in taxpayer-funded loans meant for the U.S. auto-parts industry.
But a spokeswoman for the plant's owner, the Canadian company Magna International, says she's not aware of the discussions and could not comment.
She says the accelerated shutdown of the plant is continuing.
Union workers have twice rejected concession-packed contracts that could have kept the plant open. The plant employs 1,400 workers who make transfer cases for SUVs and trucks.