Volvo moves 500 Canadian jobs to U.S.

Goderich, Ontario -- The Canadian automotive industry is reeling from another plant closure that will put 500 people out of work at Volvo's southwestern Ontario plant in Goderich.

Volvo Construction Equipment broke the news to some 165 office workers and 335 production workers Tuesday, saying it was moving the facility's work to Shippensburg, Pa., by 2010, the London (Ontario) Free Press reported Wednesday.

A separate central parts warehouse operation will be relocated to Columbus, Ohio, the company said.

Volvo, in a statement, said it made the decision to "improve its competitive situation" and reduce its exposure to exchange fluctuations in North America, which has seen the Canadian dollar soar and then retreat against the U.S. dollar in the past year.

From Oshawa, east of Toronto, west to the Windsor/Detroit border, automotive plant closures have been wreaking economic havoc this year. In southwestern Ontario, the agricultural sector has also been hard-hit by layoffs, including the closure of the Campbell Soup Co. plant in Listowel, where 550 jobs were eliminated, the Free Press said.

Copyright 2008 by United Press International.