At least two Peterbilt and Kenworth plants will see major layoffs in November as a result of the October ’02 emissions regulations.

Peterbilt announced it could lay off 500 workers at its Madison, Tenn., truck plant, about two-thirds of the workforce, beginning Nov. 1. This corresponds to a planned two-thirds cut in daily truck production, from 36 to 12. There are no plans for layoffs at any other Peterbilt plants.
Earlier this year, Peterbilt rehired about 300 of the more than 500 workers it laid off at the plant last year in order to meet surging demand for trucks in advance of the Oct. 1 deadline for trucks to be equipped with the new lower-emission engines mandated by the EPA.
Nearly 300 workers at the Kenworth plant in Renton, Wash., were also notified this week that they may be laid off if truck orders don’t pick up. Paccar spokesman Ron Ranheim told Truckinginfo.com that the company anticipates 200 to 300 hourly employees in Renton may “feel the effects” sometime in October. If 300 of the plant’s 700 employees are laid off, that would be about a 43-percent cut.
It its second-quarter earnings report, Peterbilt and Kenworth parent Paccar warned that orders could be soft in the fourth quarter because of the pre-buy.
Paccar is not the only manufacturer planning for low demand and layoffs in the fourth quarter of the year. Navistar announced this week it would lay off 1,100 employees, and Detroit Diesel has said it will lay off up to 700 workers starting the second week in October.