"General Motors made that commitment at its engine plant in Tonawanda with some major investments over the last 10 to 15 years and those investments make the GM workers among the most productive in the country," he said.
"If we don't see a similar kind of investment at other plants, we should not be surprised to hear about lower productivity and higher costs - higher per-unit costs. And we should not be surprised if more plants are closed," he said.
Continental Automotive Systems, the U.S. unit of Germany's Continental AG, announced Nov. 2 that it will close the Elma plant by the end of 2009 and move the work to lower-cost areas in Mexico and the Far East.
About 380 employees, all of whom were non-union, will lose their jobs in what the company calls a realignment of North American operations.
Production of components made at the Elma plant will be shifted to Continental's facilities in Asia starting in 2008. Company spokesman James Gill said layoffs as part of the wind-down process are expected to begin in mid-2007.
The facility was sold to Continental in July by Motorola Inc., which owned and operated it for 18 years.
The company has said it will try to find a high-tech business to buy the 200,000- square-foot building.
The Elma plant manufactures a variety of components for several automakers, including General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and the Chrysler Group.
Continental Buys Motorola Auto Electronics Cont.
Continental Chairman Manfred Wennemer emphasizes the acquisition is aimed strictly at growing the company's business and product portfolio and says there are no redundancies that will result in layoffs or consolidation.
Wennemer acknowledges a few sales positions overlap but says there will be "hardly any" job reductions.
The acquisition will increase global sales by more than 20% but will immediately double Continental's North American sales.
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