More than 300 to lose jobs from Cordele plant closure

<p>More than 300 people will lose their jobs when Wescast Industries Inc. will close its Cordele plant at the end of April, company officials announced.</p><p>A deal to sell the plant fell through and the Canadian auto parts company "had no choice but to close (it) down," said chairman and CEO Ed Frackowiak.</p><p>Company officials held a meeting Friday to inform employees.</p><p>There are plans to give employees severance packages, but "some will be released earlier," Frackowiak said.</p><p>Cordele-Crisp Chamber of Commerce officials will do what is necessary to help the employees find new jobs, said chamber president Monica Simmons.</p><p>Frackowiak said in a July press release that the Cordele operation had been "struggling for some time," foreshadowing the plant's closure.</p><p>Brantford, Ontario-based Wescast, founded in 1902, is the world's largest supplier of exhaust manifolds for passenger cars and light trucks.</p><p>____</p><p>On the Net:</p><p>HASH(0x28667ec)</p><p>___</p><p>HASH(0x2866948)</p>