Not many surprised by latest Freightliner cutbacks

By Shavonne Potts

spotts@salisburypost.com

CLEVELAND — People in the community say they were expecting word of more layoffs at the Freightliner plant.

The company said Thursday it would discontinue its second shift, eliminating 1,290 jobs.

"I mostly expected it," said Pam Phillips.

Phillips' husband was among those employees Freightliner laid off in June. He was not called back and Phillips is glad because he'd have to leave again, she said.

Phillips works at Community Grocery on U.S. 70 and sees many of the Freightliner employees on a regular basis.

"I know a lot of the guys who come in here," she said.

One of the men she knows received a phone call about the latest round of cuts while in the store earlier in the day.

What did shock Phillips was the loss of jobs for those who had not been affected by any layoffs until now.

She figures the other businesses in the area, including Community Grocery, will slow down with fewer workers from the trucking company stopping in to buy items.

Anna Enochs, another Community Grocery employee, said she wasn't surprised by the announcement.

She knows a few people who she expects will be affected by the layoffs.

"We expected it. It doesn't surprise us," she said.

"You learn to live day by day," Enochs said.

William and Teresa Navey say they both know a few people who will likely be laid off in March.

The couple were eating dinner at West Rowan Grill and talking about the layoffs, which they had heard about earlier.

"It's going to hurt a lot of people. The economy is going bad anyway," Teresa Navey said.

William Navey would prefer companies keep jobs here instead of shipping them off to foreign countries.

Freightliner has not said jobs are going to other countries.

"I have a neighbor who has been affected by every layoff," William Navey said.

Others said they'd heard rumblings of impending layoffs for a couple of weeks.