Superior Industries Closing SoCal Plant; Eliminating 290 Jobs

Updated 1:18 PM PST, Mon, Jan 26, 2009

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VAN NUYS, Calif. -- Superior Industries International Inc., which supplies aluminum wheels to automotive manufacturers, announced Tuesday it will close its Van Nuys plant and eliminate about 290 jobs in the face of lower demand.

"With its remaining five plants in North America and joint venture in Hungary, Superior has sufficient capacity to accommodate current and expected production requirements," a company statement says.

The company said the move will save about $16.5 million in annualized labor costs. The 290 jobs being lost represent 9 percent of Superior's total work force.

"Closing the Van Nuys plant, where we launched our OEM aluminum wheel business over 30 years ago, and losing many loyal and long-term employees makes this decision particularly difficult," said Chairman, CEO and President Steven Borick.

"Nevertheless, it is imperative to right size our capacity in line with current and projected vehicle production while maintaining the leverage for future business opportunities," he said. "We are committed to coming out of this unprecedented business downturn as a stronger, leaner company."

Superior expects the plant closing to be completed by the end of the second quarter of 2009 and to incur severance and other associated costs of about $2.1 million.

Company officials said asset impairment charges related to the closing have yet to be determined but are expected to be recorded in the fourth quarter that ended Dec. 28. On that date, the net book value of manufacturing equipment and related fixed assets at the Van Nuys manufacturing facility was about $17.4 million.

Superior supplies aluminum wheels to Ford, General Motors, Chrysler, Audi, BMW, Jaguar, Land Rover, Mazda, Mercedes Benz, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Seat, Skoda, Subaru, Suzuki, Toyota, Volkswagen and Volvo.