TG Missouri on Friday informed employees of temporary shutdowns across five production lines in addition to the plant's chrome facility.
According to TGMO president Dean link, who spoke with the Republic-Monitor on Friday, the shutdowns are in response to similar shutdowns among the company's customers.
"We're shutting down due to the fact that all of our customers have shut down so there's no work," Link said. "In consideration of the COVID-19 virus situation, we though it best to disperse the employees."
According to Link, the shutdowns include the Honda, Ford, GM, Toyota and Sia (Subaru) lines. The chrome facility services many of these same customers.
"The majority of our customers have indicated that they will shut down their production for about two weeks due to market conditions," Link said. "It's a reaction to a customer slowdown due to, as you might guess, the coronavirus situation."
TGMO, a division of Japan-based Toyoda Gosei, is Perryville's largest employer with more than 1,700 employees at any given time working in several different facilities comprising 921,390 square feet of manufacturing space. Toyoda Gosei Co. is a leading automotive supplier of safety systems, interiors and exteriors, weather strips and functional components and began operations in Perryville — its first plant built in the Americas, and outside of Japan — in 1987.
The shutdown — which Link stressed is a temporary measure — will leave most of TG's employees idle.
