The job cuts were the result of a decision to discontinue the group’s Sterling Trucks brand in March, a statement said.
The St. Thomas plant will close in March and the Portland plant will follow in 2010.
About 2,300 workers at the Canadian and U.S. plants would be directly affected by the closures, along with another 1,200 administrative workers. The total number represents more than one-quarter of Daimler’s North American heavy truck work force.
The decision was taken “in response to continuing depressed demand across the industry and structural changes in the company's core markets,” according to the company. The move is expected to produce annual savings of $900 million.
A voluntary separation program will be available, as well as other measures to offer flexibility and choice to affected employees, the company said.
“We are confident that this forward-looking strategy for [Daimler] is the right measure to address the challenges in the North American market,” Andreas Renschler, a company board member, said in a statement.
Work on company's Freightliner and Western Star brands, will shift from Portland to a facility in Santiago, Mexico, and to plants in the Carolinas.
“Extremely disappointing,” Portland Mayor Tom Potter told the (Portland) Oregonian. “[The plant] has been an important part of the fabric of our community for generations, and we deeply regret the loss of so many family-wage jobs.”
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