EVANSTON, Ill. (Oct. 17. 2008) – About 6.5 percent of Arkansas' transportation workforce lost their jobs in the past year, some of that accounted for by the closure of the GDX Automotive plant in Batesville, Ark., according to a new report.
The Batesville facility was one of six plants axed when MAPS Holdings Inc., a Madison Heights-based auto parts maker and affiliate of private equity firm Wynnchurch Capital, announced it was buying auto parts maker GDX International Holdings Ltd. in October 2007. Altogether, employment in the rubber and plastics sector in the state slipped 2.6 percent, according to the 2009 Arkansas Manufacturers Register, a compilation of state industry published annually by Manufacturers' News Inc. of Evanston.
Overall, Arkansas lost 3,178 industrial jobs from August 2007 to August 2008, roughly half the losses reported for the state over the 2006-2007 survey period, the study said.