Japanese automobile manufacturer Mitsubishi Motors will cease output at its manufacturing unit in Normal, Illinois, in the US by November-end, while scouting for a potential buyer.
Though the move is pending a final decision to be taken by the Board of Directors, Mitsubishi Motors officials and leaders of United Auto Workers (UAW) held a meeting last week to discuss the closure of the plant.
Both the automaker and the workers' outfit would work in a collaborative manner to identify a suitable buyer.
UAW Region 4 director Ron McInroy said: "In the coming days, weeks and months, our focus will be on helping the hard-working men and women at Mitsubishi Motor's plant transition to new job opportunities under new ownership.
"The Normal plant is a high-quality operation with very skilled and experienced employees. At a time when a growing number of car manufacturers are seeking to expand production capacity in the U.S., we believe the Normal plant and its world-class workforce will be appealing to potential buyers."
While the output of 2016 Outlander Sport would be boosted in Japan, Mitsubishi Motors will go on selling its cars at its dealerships across the US.
Mitsubishi Motors overseas operations executive vice-president Hiroshi Harunari said: "This difficult decision follows years of challenge to remain viable, and was compelled by the combination of insufficient U.S. sales and low production capacity utilization. We greatly value the work of all of our employees in Normal and want to stress that our motivation to exit from this facility is unrelated to labor costs or our relationship with the UAW.
"Our partnership over the years has been both respectful and mutually beneficial. Our primary focus right now is to work together to identify a strategic buyer for the plant in order to transit into next phase.
