Bosch to close Heber Springs AR plant in ?07 BY EDWARD KLUMP ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE
Robert Bosch Tool Corp. plans to close its Heber Springs plant, which has 565 employees, by the end of 2007. The Illinois-based company informed workers of the decision Monday, Becky MacDonald, a Bosch spokesman, said Tuesday. She said about 400 of the workers are permanent Bosch employees and will be offered severance packages. Workers at the facility also can apply for Bosch jobs elsewhere.
Forty-four of the employees are on salary; the rest are paid by the hour, MacDonald said. People will be let go at various times, and MacDonald did not release wage levels.
The Heber Springs plant manufactures circular saws with the names of Bosch and Skil, MacDonald said. The facility has "been unprofitable in recent years due to increasing cost pressures," including foreign production, she said.
Work at the facility is being moved to China, she said. The Heber Springs plant opened in 1979. Bosch is part of an international company based in Germany.