Advance planning by a York, Pa., credit union is expected to muffle any ill effects from the shuttering of its main sponsor.
The York Tracktown Employees Credit Union serves 15% of the 1,100 Caterpillar Inc. workers expected to lose their jobs when the Precision Barstock Products plant in the town is shut down. But the credit union's chief executive, Ray D. Wittes, said it had anticipated the shutdown for some time and had courted other membership groups.
"The plant's closing has been in the air for four or five years, so we went out and sought out other customers," Mr. Wittes said. "We've very effectively adjusted to the closing. We haven't had to lay anyone off, and we haven't had to cut anyone's hours."
Caterpillar, based in Peoria, Ill., blamed the Precision Barstock plant's closing on unionized workers' rejection of company wage offers. The heavy-equipment manufacturer said the process of closing the plant will begin in the coming weeks and be completed in two to three years.
"I'm sure there'll be some people who won't be able to pay back loans and there probably be a little increase in bankruptcies and a little increase in bad checks," he added. "But that's something every financial institution in town will have to face."
The plant was opened in 1953 and York Tracktown Employees Credit Union started up the next year. Mr. Wittes said one in seven plant employees do business at the credit union, which is a quarter-mile from the facility.
But labor struggles at Caterpillar throughout the past two decades, especially in the '90s, underscored the need for the credit union to diversify.
"It's really not a big bomb going off," Mr. Wittes said. "The plant isn't the only group we serve here. We've seen this coming and reacted accordingly.
Mr. Wittes said he didn't think the closure would be as serious a blow to the community as it would appear at first glance. Caterpillar plans to continue its nearby parts plant, employs several hundred people. And half those being laid off will be able to retire with full benefits, he said .
"A lot of the retired workers will continue to do business here," he added.
In addition, the town of 42,000 isn't totally reliant on Caterpillar.
"There's a lot of manufacturing here," he said. "We're really a very diversified area."
