Kongsberg officials said the decisions were a result of the "global automotive market collapse" that has resulted in a steep drop in demand for automotive components especially in North America.

Kongsberg officials have said a lot, most of it is a bunch of hogswallow.

The Businessweek piece goes on to say:

Kongsberg said its Van Wert, Ohio facility will close sometime in the summer and its production will be transferred to the company's Nuevo Laredo, Mexico facility, eliminating about 105 jobs.

The company said it also plans to move its Haysville, Kan. facility's production to its facility in Matamoros, Mexico. The Haysville facility will also close sometime in the summer, affecting about 100 jobs, Kongsberg said.

Not a problem. When Kongsberg decideds that Mexico is too expensive, they'll move to Poland, Haiti, India, maybe back to the US, you know where ever the taxes are cheap and the workers are so desperate they'd crawl all over themselves to get the jobs. Cause in the end, they're really just greedy bastards.

And why do I call them greedy bastards, well, because while they talk about the poor auto market from one side of their mouth, they accept a huge German contract out of the other side.

Kongsberg Automotive has booked an order valued at MEUR 18 (MNOK 151). The new business includes delivery of Seat Heat to the European market. The contract term is 7 years with production start in 2010.

The seat heaters will be manufactured at Kongsberg Automotive's plant in Pruszkow, Poland.

The customer is a German automaker and one of the world's premier manufacturers of passenger cars.

Ah, yes, Poland. This is the operation begun by closures of Amotfors, Sweden. But don't take my word for it, here's what Kongsberg had to say:

Kongsberg, 8 December 2008.

Kongsberg Automotive (KA) has booked an order valued at MEUR 4,3 (40
MNOK). The new business includes delivery of Seat Heat to the Russian
market, where a German automaker is preparing the launch of a small
sized car.

"The customer is one of Europe's leading carmakers and this contract
represents a door-opener to the emerging Russian automotive market",
says Hans Peter Havdal, President of Automotive Systems at KA.
"Further, this contract is the first ever to this particular
carmaker, and we expect new business opportunities to follow as a
result of this award", he concludes.


###

Kongsberg Automotive is headquartered in Kongsberg, Norway and has
more than 50 facilities in 20 countries on all continents. Kongsberg
Automotive, with revenues of about EUR1 billion and over 9.500
employees, provides system solutions to vehicle makers around the
world. The product portfolio includes gearshift systems, cables for a
wide variety of applications, fuel lines, tubing and hoses,
couplings, clutch actuation, stabilizing rods, seat heaters, seat
ventilation, lumbar supports, head restrains, arm rests, steering
columns, pedals, electronics and displays. Find more information at
www.kongsbergautomotive.com.

Yeah, right, market is down, so we have to close Van Wert (despite an illegal lockout) and we will have to close operations in Kanasas (another 100 jobs) because we have to move those operations into Mexico. It's just business, after all. Just business. Greedy fucking bastards.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT:

August 29, 2008 Wayne Ranick (412) 562-2444 or

(412) 901-8442 (c)



Statement by USW International president Leo W. Gerard on John McCain’s selection of Sara Palin as his running mate:



“It is important to realize that while the governor’s husband is a member of a union, this does not automatically qualify her for an on-the-job training program to become a heartbeat away from the presidency. And while her husband is one of 850,000 dues-paying members of the steelworkers union, it does nothing to absolve Sen. McCain of his long history of anti-union sentiment and anti-worker actions, including continuously pushing an anti-working family agenda that:



- Opposes giving workers the right to bargain collectively;

- Jeopardizes retirement security by privatizing social security;

- Further threatens job security by signing more job-stealing trade deals without the regard to human rights and environmental abuses; and,

- Erodes the ability of working families to secure quality health care by taxing their employer -provided coverage for both active and retired workers.



McCain’s choice is another example of his poor judgment and his desire to play politics as usual. McCain-Palin is not a team that works for working families. The first-term governor’s record is thin and divisive. And John McCain has a life-long record of being for the rich and powerful. No union card can hide that any more than Ronald Regan's union card did.”

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