
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, July 8, 1993                   TAG: 9307080195
SECTION: CURRENT                    PAGE: NRV-1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: MICHAEL STOWE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: DUBLIN                                LENGTH: Short

VOLVO-GM RECALLING - AND HIRING

Volvo-GM Heavy Truck Corp. in Dublin has recalled the remainder of the 350 workers it laid off in 1991 and has hired 120 new employees who will start work July 19.

Steve Plastek, human resources manager for the company, said the move was prompted by an increased demand in the truck market. "We are having a lot of repeat business," he said.

The Dublin plant will have 1,400 workers after the new employees report to work. Volvo-GM has shut down production for its annual two-week summer break.

Plastek said many of the new jobs went to people laid off from the Radford Army Ammunition Plant and the former AT&T plant in Fairlawn. They were hired for production jobs that range in salary from $13.30 to $15.50 an hour.

The plant has been gradually recalling workers laid off from Volvo-GM for the past year, Plastek said. The final group, fewer than 50 workers, returned to their jobs June 28. The plant's wages are among the best in the New River Valley, and turnover is around 1 percent.

Volvo-GM started work early this year to increase the plant's production capacity from 49 to 60 trucks a day. The trucks made in Dublin cost between $75,000 and $100,000, and most are made to order. The plant was built in 1975 by White Motor Co. Volvo bought into the company in 1981, and General Motors followed in 1988.

by CNB