The sale of a Sallisaw company, SLW Automotive, last August, led this week to a further announcement of the layoff of an estimated 150 employees on April 1. It was taken over by a Chinese company.
Jeffrey P. Addison, VP GM North America and Europe gave a WARN notice to the Oklahoma Office of Workforce Development.
“Due to a sale of a portion of SLW’s business in Sallisaw and the resulting corporate-wide reorganization, SLW will experience a reduction in its workforce and a number of employees of SLW will experience layoffs. This mass layoff is expected to be permanent,” he explained, adding that the overall number of affected workers would be 106 full-time employees and 85 temporary workers.
It was in August when a report in the Eastern-Times Register indicated the sale of the Sallisaw property was a “strategic action by SLW Automotive to focus the geographic footprint of the North America operations and grow the electric vehicle business.” The report quoted Leo Yulong, chairman of Shenglong Automotive Powertrain System Co. who explained that SLW Automotive had acquired a manufacturing site in Warren, Michigan to be closer to strategic customers.
Shenglong Automotive Powertrain System Co. Ltd was described as a leading firm in the combustion engine and electric vehicle market headquarted in Ningbo,China It entered into an agreement with Millison Technology Co. Ltd., headquartered in Chongqing, China.
The Eastern-Times Register reported that Millison Technology Co. was founded in 2001, and currently has more than 5,000 employees worldwide. The company is mainly engaged in the research and development, production and sales of aluminum alloy precision die castings in the communication and automotive fields, with three major production bases in China.