Volvo to lay off 500 from truck plant

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Updated Dec 16, 2016

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Volvo Trucks has said it will cut roughly 500 more workers at its truck manufacturing plant in Dublin, Virginia, as the Class 8 manufacturing segment continues to falter.

The news follows two rounds of layoffs at the plant this year, which currently employs about 2,168 people.

“The industry is continuing to manage through a period of excess inventory and reduced demand, and we’ve seen that softening particularly in the long-haul segment, which is core for Volvo,” Volvo Trucks spokesman John Mies said. The cuts will be effective in mid-February, Mies said.

Volvo Trucks cut 300 jobs at its Dublin plant in September. At 1.6-million-squre feet, the New River Valley Assembly Plant is Volvo’s largest truck manufacturing site. All of the company’s Class 8 trucks destined for the North American market are made there.

Daimler, maker of Freightliner and Western Star, also announced this year it cut 1,200 workers at its truck assembly plants due to the Class 8 market’s downturn.