Commercial truck maker Navistar International Corp. will close an engine plant in Alabama this summer as it moves to eliminate excess production capacity and consolidate its engine lineup for medium-size trucks.
According the Wall Street Journal, the closure of the plant in Huntsville will result in the loss of about 280 jobs and generate savings of about $22 million a year. Production at that plant will be shifted to an engine plant near Chicago, which will add about 75 workers.
Navistar will continue to produce large diesel engines for heavy-duty trucks at a second plant in Huntsville. WSJ reports that the move reflects an increasing reliance on engines made by Cummins Inc. Navistar recently began offering Cummins's engines in its medium-size trucks and had earlier decided to buy 15-liter engines from Cummins for heavy-duty trucks.