Assistance for Laid Off Superior Workers

Los Angeles Valley College is standing ready to assist with retraining and educational opportunities for the workers losing their jobs at the Van Nuys plant of Superior Industries International Inc. The company is closing the plant in response to a lower demand for aluminum wheels as car and truck manufacturers have been particularly hard hit by the recession. The closure will result in the loss of 290 jobs, or about 9 percent of the company’s total workforce. The move saves the company $16.5 million in labor costs. If asked by Superior to meet with its employees, the college can offer assistance with basic skills and retraining to find another job, said Roberto F. Gutierrez, program manager with the job training program at Valley College. “We would like to be in the mix as we have had a long-standing relationship with Superior,” Gutierrez said. In 2004, the college received a two-year state grant in which it provided English language skills training, computer applications, blueprint reading and CNC machining with Superior employees. The college hadn’t done much work with Superior in recent years due to a previous downsizing. There were indications that the Van Nuys plant would close but it was still shocking when it came, Gutierrez said. “With this last economic spiraling it probably made the decision easier,” he added. The closure will be completed by the end of the second quarter. The value of manufacturing equipment and other assets totals about $17 million. In December, Superior closed a manufacturing plant in Kansas that was a primary provider of light truck and SUV wheels particularly to General Motors Corp. Superior has five remaining plants in North America and a joint venture in Hungary.