Volvo Trucks North America Inc has announced that the New River Valley assembly plant in Dublin VA will lay off about 1,000 people during the first quarter of 2007.
Volvo said the workforce reductions are the result of an expected industry-wide decline in demand for heavy-duty vehicles, driven primarily by many customers’ desire to delay purchasing trucks equipped with the new emissions technologies necessary to meet the Environmental Protection Agency emissions standards that go into effect January 1, 2007.
The plant currently employs about 3,170 people. The reductions are expected to occur incrementally over the first quarter of 2007, with the first reduction expected in January, Volvo said.