Navistar may leave GM in Fort Wayne

Navistar International Corp., wanted to move its world headquarters from Warrenville to Lisle. However, a hiccup occurred because of some opposition to the Navistar's move to the Alcatel-Lucent site. There was a concern about air pollution, noise, traffic and some safety issue for some children:

Giant Steps Illinois Inc., a school for autistic students located next to the proposed Navistar site, has endorsed a plan that greatly scales back the amount of engine testing the truck and engine manufacturer intends to conduct at the facility.

Another group was opposed to air quality being impacted,

Citizens for Healthy Development, which was formed to oppose the project, partly because of the unfavorable impact members believed its technology center would have on DuPage County air quality.

The safety issue had something to do with fuel storage,

Navistar's original proposal called for 62 engine-testing cells, but that number was reduced to six, Navistar spokeswoman Jillane Kleinschmidt said. The cells would be located farther from the school than initially proposed, she said. Navistar also said it wouldn't allow engines to run for long periods of time, and it would reduce diesel fuel storage from 150,000 gallons to 12,000.

Navistar is also seeking from Illinois to be a TIF district which would capture tax increases for its development in the area. It has only temporary delayed plans for the Navistar move with Illinois facing (at the time) a 11.2 percent unemployment rate. Navistar has other options, if their revised plan is not approved, such as relocating to places like Alabama, Texas or South Carolina. Navistar appears to be moving forward in its talk with Illinois on a downward unemployment rate trend at 10.4 percent.

Still, Fort Wayne, Indiana is campaigning for Navistar, to consider keeping its Navistar Truck Development and Technology Center on Meyer Road.
But, years ago, Archie McCardel, CEO cost the city thousands of jobs back in the 1980s'.

Among the many changes McCardell made was to fire 11,000 of the company's 15,000 mid-and upper-level managers, whom McCardell felt were too close to UAW shop stewards. McCardell took personal control of IH's labor relations, and appointed a new vice president of human resources, W. Grant Chandler (who was to assist McCardell in all union negotiations). McCardell's actions stripped the company of nearly all its experienced labor negotiators, and those who remained were mostly ignored during the upcoming round of negotiations. McCardell and Chandler had little labor relations experience, however, and none in heavy manufacturing or in negotiating with the UAW.

Now there is no turning back as consolidation appears to be Navistar goal in taking the remaining Fort Wayne Navistar jobs.

Fort Wayne Mayor Thomas Henry is only doing a public relation to sidestep the fact, that one more company could be leaving the once manufacturing All-American City. Fort Wayne unemployment rate in June climbed to 10.3%. If Navistar should take its more than 1000 jobs away from the city, the unemployment rate will surely reach 11.0 % before the end of the year.