Visteon plans to close its Chicago plant by June 2007 as part of an ongoing restructuring that could affect nearly two dozen unprofitable and non-core plants worldwide.

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The closing of the Chicago plant, which makes petrol tanks, instrument panels and front-end modules, will result in 290 job cuts, according to a Dow Jones report.


Petrol tanks represent most of the plant’s operation and is a business line Visteon doesn’t intend to continue, the news agency noted.


Spokesman Jim Fisher told Dow Jones that, without the fuel tank operation, it’s hard to make a business case to keep the plant open.


“As you know, when we have a plant that does not have a sustainable business case, we are acting very quickly and decisively to assess the situation,” Fisher reportedly said.

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The plant’s shutdown is being negotiated with the United Auto Workers union, the report said, adding that the pending closure was first reported by Chicago Business.


Visteon is in the midst of a three-year, $800 million restructuring plan that could affect up to 23 plants worldwide, consolidating operations and moving more work to countries with lower labour costs, Dow Jones noted.


Chicago’s fuel tank and instrument panel output, which is used in cars built at the local Ford vehicle assembly plant, will be transferred to former Visteon plants now owned by Ford, the report said – Ford last year took back 23 Visteon facilities as part of a rescue plan for its former parts-making division, which was spun off in 2000.


Another supplier will take on production of the front-end modules, Fisher told Dow Jones.


Visteon said on Tuesday it doesn’t expect to hit financial targets for 2006 that were outlined in early August – it has joined a growing list of auto industry suppliers that have in recent weeks scaled back their outlooks owing to production cuts by Ford, General Motors and Chrysler, the news agency’s report added.