Experts weigh in on state of St. Louis auto industry

From KMOV NEWS-4, July 19, 2008

St. Louis (KMOV) -- News 4 asked local experts to weigh in on the changes in the auto industry around the St. Louis area.

Labor market analyst Russell Signorino said right now the industry is going downward. The domino effect has already begun since cutbacks were announced at area manufacturing plants.

Lear Corp. will lay off 250 employees when it closes its seat-manufacturing plant in Bridgeton in a few weeks.

Findlay Industries, which supplies parts to auto plants, will shut down in September cutting 68 jobs.

Those jobs are what experts talk about when they speak of the job multiplier.

But Signorino said company's change is not all doom and gloom. Companies take an