The looming closure of Toyota Motor Corp.'s California assembly plant is beginning to take a toll on suppliers there, with plants located around the site ready to shut down starting in late March.
Toyota City, Japan-based Toyota and Detroit's General Motors Corp. shared manufacturing at the New United Motor Manufacturing Inc. — or NUMMI — plant in Fremont, Calif., since 1984. But when GM announced last year that it was pulling out of the plant as part of its bankruptcy court-approved restructuring, Toyota executives said it made no sense for it to operate there alone.
NUMMI is set to close April 1, taking 3,698 jobs with it.
That is setting off a ripple effect of shutdowns by NUMMI's suppliers, including plastics molders, and companies ranging from international auto supply giants to individual plants.
Injex Industries Inc. injection molds door panels, glove boxes and other parts in Hayward, Calif. It told the state of California it will lay off 387 employees April 1.
TG Automotive Sealing Inc., also in Hayward, is part of Toyoda Gosei Co. Ltd. of Kiyoshi, Japan. It makes thermoplastic and rubber seals, and will take 204 jobs with it when it closes July 1.
Johnson Controls Inc., with automotive headquarters in Plymouth, Mich., has 321 people making seats in Livermore, Calif. That plant is set to close March 25.
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