Bosch to close Heber Springs AR plant in ’07
BY EDWARD KLUMP ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

Robert Bosch Tool Corp. plans to close its Heber Springs plant, which
has 565 employees, by the end of 2007. The Illinois-based company
informed workers of the decision Monday, Becky MacDonald, a Bosch
spokesman, said Tuesday. She said about 400 of the workers are
permanent Bosch employees and will be offered severance packages.
Workers at the facility also can apply for Bosch jobs elsewhere.

Forty-four of the employees are on salary; the rest are paid by the
hour, MacDonald said. People will be let go at various times, and
MacDonald did not release wage levels.

The Heber Springs plant manufactures circular saws with the names of
Bosch and Skil, MacDonald said. The facility has "been unprofitable
in recent years due to increasing cost pressures," including foreign
production, she said.

Work at the facility is being moved to China, she said. The Heber
Springs plant opened in 1979. Bosch is part of an international
company based in Germany.