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Intermet Corporation, which laid off 56 employees last Friday at its New River Foundry in Radford, announced Thursday morning that it had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
“We laid off 56 people last Friday at the Radford location,” said Gordon Cole, spokesman for Intermet. “Those layoffs were because of unprecedented low automotive sales volumes and high commodity prices. The layoffs had nothing to do with today’s announcement concerning our filing for bankruptcy protection.” The Radford plant currently employs about 160 employees, according to Cole. When asked about any further layoffs at the Radford plant, Cole said in a phone interview with EverythingNRV late Thursday afternoon, “ Business will continue as usual. Internet will review all operations in the months ahead and decisions regarding employment and operations will continue to be made on the basis of our business levels.” Intermet has applied to the Bankruptcy Court for, among other things, authority to use its cash collateral to finance its operations and to pay its employees’ wages, salaries and current benefits of its hourly and salaried employees, which should allow it to maintain uninterrupted production for customers, meet its obligations to suppliers and employees, and consolidate parts of its operation while restructuring debt, according to a company press release. “Intermet has worked hard and made impressive gains in efficiency, profitability and quality,” said Bob Tamburrino, who was named the president and CEO at Intermet. He replaced Jeff Mihalic, who had resigned but remains in a consulting role. “The Intermet team has accomplished this through company-wide implementation of Lean, significant overhead cost reductions and capital investment that have created a solid foundation for long-term success. We intend to build on that success and be around for the long haul,” he said. The company is working with a financial advisory firm and is actively negotiating debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing to provide sufficient funding to meet obligations and complete its restructuring effort. More information on Intermet’s restructuring, including access to Court documents and other general information about the chapter 11 cases, is available at www.intermet.com and at www.kccllc.com. Photo: Business was usual outside the New River Foundry in Radford Thursday afternoon. (Photo by David Grimes)
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