Layoffs could follow truck manufacturing boom

Truck makers might slow production and lay off employees this year if trucking companies lift the throttle on purchases, as many experts anticipate. Trucking firms scrambled to stock up on tractors before Jan. 1 this year to avoid paying the extra $9,000 or more associated with cleaner-burning diesel engines mandated by environmental regulations. International Truck and Engine Corp. plans to announce staffing changes soon after having offered buyouts to 400 Fort Wayne workers in November, according to The Journal Gazette.