Toyota to Close California’s NUMMI Plant
By Chris Weiss
The Associated Press is reporting that Toyota’s board has voted to close the New United Motor Manufacturing Inc. (NUMMI) plant in Fremont, California by next March. The news follows speculation that Toyota would have to shut it down due to GM’s withdrawal from the joint venture during its bankruptcy proceedings. The shutdown will affect some 4,600 workers who have been kept busy building Tacomas and Corollas despite the GM pullout. The news comes as a blow to the already struggling state of California, which tried to put together an incentives package to keep Toyota in Fremont. If the closure becomes a hard reality, lawmakers intend to scramble to get a new tenant for the plant–a task that will likely be rather large in this economy. [AP via AutoBlog]
