Autoliv will close plant in Kentucky

0 Comments | Deseret News (Salt Lake City), Aug 9, 2007 | by Catherine Smith Deseret Morning News

Automotive safety-parts supplier Autoliv North America, which has several Utah facilities, said Wednesday that it plans to close its Madisonville, Ky., plant.

The consolidation will take place over the next year and will bring a handful of jobs to the Utah market but not enough to make a significant difference, said Kriss Bessinger, senior director of human resources for Autoliv North America. The company, which has international headquarters in Sweden, said the closure of the Kentucky plant will result in the loss of about 250 jobs.

The plant makes seat-belt products for North American car manufacturers. Autoliv's Ogden plant will begin producing some of the seat belts, but the Utah plants mainly focus on air bags, she said.

Most of the seat belts that the company produces are manufactured in two large plants in Mexico, and the Kentucky operations will be moved throughout the company's plants in Mexico and elsewhere.

Autoliv's vice president of seat-belt operations, Wendell Lane, said in a news release that the company needed to close the Kentucky plant in order to stay competitive in the industry.

Autoliv employs about 3,600 people at its six Utah facilities, three or which are in Ogden. The others are in Brigham City, Promontory and Tremonton.

E-mail: csmith@desnews.com