Officials with Delco Remy and Roadway Express have confirmed large cutbacks are planned for their Meridian operations.
Roadway Express will make cutbacks as part of a company-wide integration program being implemented by parent transportation company YRC. Some have said as many as 100 or more jobs could be lost.
Meanwhile, auto parts manufacturer Remy Inc. will lay off 40 employees at their Delco Remy plant in Marion, citing the shaky economy and the ailing auto industry as reasons for the cutbacks.
A YRC representative who wished to remain anonymous said that Roadway's local city driving work will remain in Meridian, but the dock, switching, and line-haul work will transfer to the Jackson facility.
"This consolidation is part of the integration of YRC Worldwide's Yellow and Roadway national networks to create a single, more efficient network," the representative said.
Roadway did not confirm the number of employees that will be laid off, but did confirm that the Meridian facility currently employs 248 people.
The majority of those impacted will have the opportunity to maintain their jobs and transfer to Jackson, and all others will have opportunities to transfer elsewhere in the U.S., the representative said.
YRC began to consolidate its Yellow and Roadway operations last year. Success in doing so has prompted the company to speed up the integration process, which the company expects will reduce costs and improve service.
Along with Roadway Express YRC is the holding company for Yellow Transportation and numerous other trucking lines.
A local Yellow employee said similar cutbacks are not expected at Meridian Yellow Transportation operations.
Delco Remy informed employees of expected cutbacks Thursday. Both hourly wage and salaried employees will be subject to lay off.
Delco Remy will continue operations at a reduced level and does not plan to close the plant, a Remy spokesperson said. Some operations will move to an outsourced distribution center in Texas.
The plant currently employs about 100 people, including both direct employees and contractors. Remy will not provide laid-off workers with an opportunity to transfer, but will provide severance pay, outplacement assistance, and benefit continuation.
Remy is a supplier for General Motors, whose serious financial troubles have been well-publicized in the national media.
"The automotive decline combined with with the tough economic climate is causing everyone (in the auto industry) to look at their business and make sure it's running efficiently," said Dawn Griffin, a human resources official at Remy.
Griffin said Remy has not planned any layoffs at its Taylorsville facility.
Local News
Delco Remy, Roadway to cut local jobs
Roadway employees will have opportunity to transfer jobs
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City cuts payment to Watkins
The Meridian City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to cut their monthly payment to David Watkins, project developer of Meridian's new police station, by $9,999 until work resumes on the project.
The order, made during the Meridian City Council meeting Tuesday morning, included a mutual agreement between the councilmen and Watkins to reduce the project developer's monthly consultant fee of $10,000 to $1, effective Tuesday. -
Crews work on gasoline pipeline
If you hear a loud, booming sound early today, between 4 a.m.-10 a.m., there is no cause for alarm.
Workers with Plantation Pipeline will be performing maintenance work on their 30-foot gasoline pipeline in the Meridian area to accommodate the widening of Highway 493. The location of the work activity will be at Highway 493 North and Oak Hill Baptist Church, just inside the city limits. -
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High Honor
The flowers and balloons Crestwood Elementary School Principal Kimberly Kendrick received at school Monday were not an early Valentines' Day gift.
Kendrick has been named Meridian Public School District's 2012 Administrator of the Year – an announcement that both surprised and wowed the 17-year veteran educator when made by MPSD Superintendent Dr. Alvin Taylor. -
Master Dance Class
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Digital system promises better communication
Hopefully in the near future you won't hear someone in the emergency services ask over the radio, "Can you hear me now?"
A digital communications system, one which is being pushed by the Federal Communication Commission (FCC), is a few months away and, in some cases, is already in the testing phase in Lauderdale County. -
Inmate escapes custody
Mississippi Department of Corrections officials said Monday afternoon an inmate escaped from custody Friday and is still being sought.
Officials said Johnny Hall Jr. escaped from two Wilkinson County Correctional Facility officers’ custody while being escorted from his father’s wake at the Picayune Funeral Home in Picayune. Preliminary information indicates Hall left the officers and jumped into a waiting black vehicle with a white female driver. -
Citizen’s Police Academy begins today
The work law enforcement conducts on a daily basis is often misunderstood by the general public.
Officials at the Meridian Police Department developed a program to inform and educate citizens on what police do in serving and protecting the population. The program, The Citizen's Police Academy, has been gaining speed for a couple of years since it was first offered. Officials said it shows residents are interested in police work and how it is conducted. - Woman: decongestant brought meth charge in Alabama
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