Deutsche Bank Reports American Axle To Close Detroit Plant

According to Deutsche Bank, American Axle & Mfg AXL announced that it will close the company's Detroit Manufacturing Complex Feb 26, 2012, after failing to reach an agreement with the UAW for a more competitive labor agreement. Deutsche Bank said that it anticipates that the company's axle manufacturing operations in Detroit will be consolidated into the company's 3-Rivers Michigan plant (also a UAW plant, but with fully loaded labor costs in the $37-30/hour range, compared with Detroit at $45/hour). “American Axle had previously indicated that they were targeting $10-$20 MM of additional savings from competitiveness actions at 2 plants: Detroit and Cheektowaga.” American Axle & Mfg closed yesterday at $11.38.