IPL suspends operations in Windsor, 150 will be laid off

IPL’s executive vice-president Jean-Yves Bacle hinted in the spring that drastic measures would be taken to regain the company’s profitability, and now those measures have been revealed. IPL, a custom and proprietary molder based in St-Damien, QC, will suspend operations at its IPL Prelude Corp. subsidiary in Windsor, ON, and transfer production to other IPL facilities. The move will result in the gradual layoff of 150 employees by September. The plant will be closed for an indefinite period.
IPL purchased the injection molding division of Prelude Plastic Products Corp. in December 1998. The company was considered a strategic asset for IPL’s automotive business. At the time of the acquisition, Prelude employed 40 people.
The restructuring of production is said to be a direct result of external economic and political factors that have affected IPL’s earnings and caused the company to lower its sales growth target for 2003.
The company announced June 26 it will not meet the over-5% growth target for the current fiscal year. The reasons cited are:
– SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) has prompted a significant drop in hotel and restaurant business, and has had a negative impact on sales of IPL’s Industrial Packaging Products Division.
– the rapid rise of the Canadian dollar with respect to the U.S. dollar led to a sharp dip in revenues from the U.S.
– the late start to summer, a decline in automotive business and fierce competition are all negatively affecting sales.