MOORESVILLE (AP) ó NGK Ceramics USA Inc. says it is permanently laying off 85 workers at a North Carolina plant because of the continued slump in the car and truck markets.
The Charlotte Observer reported Monday that the Mooresville plant also plans to halt production until March 2.
Steve Dailey, vice president and general manager, said the decline in auto and trucks sales is too great for the company to remain at its current size.
NGK is a Japanese company that makes ceramic honeycombs for catalytic converters. It began production in Mooresville in 1989, when American automobile companies wanted products that were made in America.
The company has stayed and expanded in the U.S. as many American-owned manufacturers moved operations abroad. The raw materials used to make the ceramics are mined in the U.S.

Information from: The Charlotte Observer, http://www.charlotte.com