Another 460 auto-related Canadian jobs go

TILLSONBURG, Ontario, Oct. 8 (UPI) -- Another 460 job layoffs hit Canada's embattled auto-related manufacturing sector in southwestern Ontario, surpassing 1,000 jobs in the past week.

Tuesday, DDM Plastics in Tillsonburg issued the layoff notices, leaving some 200 people working at the plant, the London (Ontario) Free Press reported.

The company makes plastic front-end parts for two Ford plants but lost contracts with Honda and Toyota, said Jim Nugent, representative for the International Order of Machinists and Aerospace Workers.

The layoffs are indefinite and will take effect Jan. 1, the newspaper said.

Late last week, two other companies in the region announced permanent plant closures that put some 650 people out of work, the newspaper said.

Statistics Canada figures show the London region lost 2,800 manufacturing jobs between January through the end of August, the report said.