McAllen plant lays off 250

McALLEN -- Some 250 workers at a plastics manufacturing facility here have fallen victim to the slumping U.S. auto industry.

Ontario-based Progressive Moulded Products Inc. announced Thursday it was shutting down factories in the United States and Canada and laying off 2,000 employees, including 250 at its plant at 6900 S. Bentsen Road in McAllen.

Progressive filed for bankruptcy two weeks ago.

The plastic injection molding company was a major supplier for General Motors Corp. and other automakers. However, struggles within the auto industry have forced major production cutbacks.

GM shares closed at $10.12 Thursday in regular trading on the New York Stock Exchange after hitting a 52-week low of $9.96 Wednesday. The company has suffered marked declines in sales with regular gasoline selling for more than $4 a gallon in most of the country.

A Progressive representative did not return messages left Thursday evening. The company has plants in Ontario, Michigan and Missouri, in addition to the McAllen plant, which was established in 1999.

"The plant here was very successful ... but the parent company went bankrupt," said Keith Patridge, president and chief executive officer of the McAllen Economic Development Corp.

Employees at the company were given the news Thursday.

The McAllen Economic Development Corp. is looking for companies to take over the local plant and rehire the displaced workers, Patridge said. The plastics manufacturing industry employs hundreds of people in this area.