Buffalo News, August 19, 2011, Friday

Buffalo News

August 19, 2011, Friday

Buffalo News (full article)

American Axle closing last plant here

Arthur Wheaton, an automotive industry expert at Cornell University's School of Industrial and Labor Relations in Buffalo, called the shutdown "bad news" but "certainly no surprise."

American Axle has scaled back its U.S. manufacturing while adding operations overseas, he said. The loss of the other two American Axle plants in the Buffalo area did not help the Cheektowaga plant's long-term outlook, he added.

"There was nothing nearby for them to supply," he said.

Wheaton credited local manufacturing workers with making the plant last as long as it did. "It kept jobs in Buffalo for a longer period of time," he said.