CLINTON, Miss. (AP) -- Delphi Corp. will close its wiring plant in Clinton, Miss., by the end of the year, idling 280 workers.
Company spokeswoman Rachelle Valdez in Troy, Mich., told The Associated Press on Thursday that the plant will shut down by Dec. 31. She said layoffs would begin Nov. 16.
Valdez said employees were informed Wednesday of the decision, which does not affected the Delphi operation in Brookhaven, Miss., which has 180 workers.
The Clinton plant opened in the early 1970s.
Delphi owns the property -- two buildings and a second plant closed in 2006. Valdez said no decision has been made on what to do with the property.
Valdez said workers will receive severance packages based on years of service for salaried employees and a union agreement for hourly workers.
Valdez said the closing comes amid declining customer demand for the cable and connection systems manufactured there coupled with general economic conditions in North America. annually in property taxes.
Delphi owns the property -- two buildings and a second plant closed in 2006.
Valdez said the company has not decided what to do with the property.
Valdez said workers will receive severance packages based on years of service for salaried employees and a union agreement for hourly workers.
Valdez said the closing is "the direct result of the declining customer volumes" and the poor economic conditions in North America.
The Clinton plant produces cable and wiring connectors for a variety of auto manufacturers. Production will shift to Warren, Ohio.
The announcement comes as Delphi is preparing to exit a bankruptcy reorganization that began in 2005. In July, a bankruptcy judge approved the company's exit plan.
"We've been expecting this for two years, and that it would happen sooner rather than later," Clinton Mayor Rosemary Aultman told The Clarion-Ledger newspaper in Jackson. "Anytime you have people losing their jobs, you empathize and sympathize with them."
Aultman couldn't detail the impact on sales tax revenue, but said Delphi pays $120,000 annually in property taxes.