WAUSEON -- About 100 employees of the former Plastech factory here, now Johnson Control Injection Molding, will be permanently losing their jobs in two months.
The factory, where plastic interior parts for U.S. automobiles are manufactured, and its employees are another victim of the spiraling economy and failing automotive industry.
The announcement to close the plant was revealed to Wauseon Mayor Jerry Dehnbostel in a letter he received in the mail Thursday. It said the plant "will be permanently closing March 8, or within 14 days," and "all employees will be terminated on a permanent basis (with) no applicable bumping rights."
Dehnbostel said that in years past, when the plant was owned by Plastech Engineered Products, it had employment "in the 200-range."
With a county unemployment rate estimated at 9.2 percent, Dehnbostel said the plant closure announcement is "one of those things where you're hoping it's not going to happen, but it's not totally unexpected. ... It's really tough. It just goes to tell you that there are no jobs."
Looking to the positive, the mayor said, "Historically, things have always turned around. It's just a matter of how long people can wait to find a new job."