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April 11, 2008
Southfield-based seating and electronics supplier Lear Corp. is laying off and offering buyout packages to white-collar workers at its facilities in Southfield and Troy.
The extent of the cuts is unclear, but the layoffs and buyouts could end up affecting more than 100 salaried workers in Lear's suburban Detroit operations, according to a source familiar with the matter.
Mel Stephens, Lear's top spokesman, declined to comment on the specifics of the cuts, but confirmed that the company is “always looking for efficiencies.”
“Unfortunately, we do not announce the details of every specific action we initiate to improve our efficiency and reduce our costs,” Stephens wrote to Automotive News in an e-mail message. “It should be no surprise to anyone that in the highly competitive auto industry, continuous improvement is a way of life.”
The company has been making piecemeal cuts in its workforce since 2005. That year, Lear had its recent peak workforce of a little more than 115,000 employees. Lear’s total global workforce had been cut to about 91,000 workers as of Dec. 31, 2007, according to Lear’s filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Both hourly workers and salaried employees have been cut loose as Lear trims its operations to aid in its efforts to reorganize as a global company.
Lear stock Friday closed at $24.96 a share, down $1.35 or 5.2 percent on the New York Stock Exchange. Last year, Lear shareholders rejected a $2.9 billion, or $37.25 per share, buyout offer from corporate raider Carl Icahn. Lear management supported the offer.
Lear ranks No. 7 on the Automotive News list of the top 100 global suppliers with original equipment sales totaling $17.84 billion in 2006.
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