Shortly after the major automakers in Southeast Michigan halted production in mid-March due to the pandemic, the ripples reached the shores of Lake Michigan here in the southwestern part of the state for Aludyne in both Stevensville and Benton Harbor. We reported that temporary layoffs were being undertaken by the plants, which were formerly known as Chassix, here on Moody on the Market on March 19th. 
Unfortunately, the lasting impact of the shutdown is hitting harder now as the company reported to the State of Michigan at the end of last week that 44 of those layoffs have now become permanent.
Nicole Beaver, Human Resources Manager for Aludyne’s West Michigan Campus group, dispatched a letter to the Workforce Development Agency for the state of Michigan that “Aludyne, Inc., will be permanently laying off 44 employees at its facilities located in Benton Harbor & Stevensville, Michigan.” She adds, “Unforeseen circumstances related to the escalating COVID-19 pandemic have necessitated execution of a permanent layoff.”
The company will still have more than 300 people in their workforce in Southwest Michigan after the 44 are gone. Both the Benton Harbor plant at 1320 Paw Paw Avenue and the Stevensville facility at 2800 Yasdick Drive are impacted by the termination of the workers which include:
- 16 LPI Operators
- 13 Finishing Operators
- 8 Casting Operators
- 3 Melt Operators
- 1 Material Handler
- 1 Tooling Supervisor
- 1 Shift Supervisor
- 1 Finance Analyst
Beaver’s letter says, “The company will be carrying out a mass layoff regarding its employees working at this location. The layoff is expected to be permanent.” It goes on to say, “The changing economic conditions have led to a substantial and unexpected reduction in production forecasts. As such, the company is unable to furnish employment for all of the company’s employees, and the company could not provide earlier notice.”
The 44 Aludyne workers were slated to be permanently laid off effective April 27, 2020.
The company, formerly known as Chassix until a name change last fall, has been directly impacted by the decisions by the Detroit automakers to halt production because they serve them with original equipment parts.
In March, Jenifer Zbiegien, Vice President of Human Resources & Marketing for Aludyne, which is headquartered in Southfield, Michigan, confirmed the original temporary lay offs of workers in Southwest Michigan and elsewhere, saying at that time, “In light of the announcements from our customers regarding temporary suspensions to production, Aludyne will be implementing temporary layoffs at all of our locations in North America and Europe. These temporary layoffs will help us protect the health and safety of our employees as well as the financial health of our business. We have and will continue to follow CDC guidelines for social distancing and increased frequency of cleaning to protect our employees.”
Last October, Chassix, a global lightweighting solutions and components supplier to the mobility industry, announced that it had formally changed the company’s name to Aludyne.
For more than twenty years the company has manufactured aluminum and iron cast vehicle components for safety critical applications, including chassis, subframe, and electric vehicles.
The company introduced the Aludyne name as a reflection of its evolution and the trajectory of the mobility industry, with company officials saying last fall, “As the industry changes and requires lighter and safer vehicle components, Aludyne more closely embodies the work currently being done by the company and the future of its business.”
