If the market makes a turn soon, do you think there will be Navistar International layoffs? Any chatter, news or rumors?
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@8qe what time is this scheduled for? Any updates?
"Emergency" and mandatory town hall meeting being held tomorrow, 2/20/26, for all employees of the Springfield Assembly Plant, where the current union contract expires in six months. Local law enforcement summoned to be deployed onsite.
Thoughts and prayers for all employees impacted by the upcoming announcement.
@7sa That's first order of causation thinking. If your job function followed production and the order board in the slightest, you would know the trucking industry is cyclical and bo-m/bust cycles go back decades. You'd understand that that production interruptions and supply chain issues in 2020/2021, combined with a retail freight bo-m as most of America transitioned hybrid/remote work (or outright helicopter money subsidies), resulted in a demand for both new and used trucks that far outweighed supply, driving up prices. That money printing kept the economy artificially overheated in 2022-23. But just like any sugar-high or artificially created exuberance comes a crash out and hangover. Make no mistake, the lethargy and puking phase of money printing was apparent early in 2024. There was already a slowdown in orders by 2H '24, even before the primaries ended.
To what degree subsequent political decisions (including tariffs) impacted the fallout is academic and moot. The root cause is freight (and the economy in general) has been slowing since 2023, and our would-be customers are still trying pay-off product they purchased at historical premiums... If they're still in business. There is one aspect of freight that's booming right now, heavy haul, and not only was our misguided boondoggle into battery-powered trucks poorly suited to meet that demand, even our ICE products are lackluster in that arena.
And all of that ignores the institutionally-ingrained dysfunction within a company that has arguably circling the drain at varying pitches and velocities for the last quarter century. I would argue that, more than anything else, played the biggest role in the recent job cuts, and will be the biggest challenge to overcome in the near-to-mid term future.
@69v tariffs and the resulting uncertainty is 100% the cause of this very drastic downturn. If your job function followed production and the order board in the slightest, you would know that there was a near immediate downturn since early 2025 across nearly all models, followed by a grasping at straws (at times offering to pay for a portion of the tariffs just to have customers accept already built vehicles). Within all this, constant price increases are not helping. To ignore the role of poor political decisions and their outcomes would be ignorant of the truth, though I'm sure you have no problem in doing such.
Please don't resort to petty politics here, some people following this thread are directly affected by this layoff... And the last thing we need to read is partisan finger pointing.
The truth is globally speaking, the auto industry, especially the Europeans (see also VWAG, Stellantis) is in an economic downturn as the entire world economy slows down from COVID/post-covid financial stimuluses.
Trucking has long been a bo-m/bust industry, cyclical in nature, it's just that this one downturn has been particularly deep and long. Navistar was fairly dysfunctional even before Traton acquired it, and job cuts across all levels are to be expected in the years following a takeover in any company.
To be honest, 300 is a pretty modest number -- but it's only January, and it's possible there are plans to stagger such cuts throughout the year to avoid public scrutiny / fallout.
maybe just maybe it is because of the US economy and politics. if you would know that there are other countries in the world other than the US, you could know that MAN had massive reductions in the last 5 years and Scania is running a cost down program as well but of course only Navistar is suffering because of the evil people from Europe. Go back watching Fox News
@5jd Oh, and the reason why embedded Traton employees are unaffected is because when one company acquires another, the one performing the acquisition is the one that gets to wear the pants in the relationship.
I've seen this happen in other industries, where seniority/promotability is more codified (time-in-service based). All the acquired roles are shifted down down the totem pole, positioning them to less likely for promotion, more likely for layoff.
Navistar/Traton is a different industry, and the details are different, but the general dynamic is the same.
@5jd Agreed regarding the program cancellations. I began to get the hint of what was coming when, a few weeks ago, my boss asked me to send him a list of all the initiatives I was involved with. As I made those rounds to the various project managers and leads, I was told again and again "deprioritized", "postponed", "waiting for funding", "cancelled", etc.
Can confirm International employees are being let go in Lisle.
Why is Traton US unaffected. I see so many Traton people doing almost nothing all day because of program cancellations.
As another person said. The European model of working is clearly not working and people are fed up already.
@5gc , The scope of the job cut activity discussed here in this thread is only International Motors (formerly Navistar), which does operate facilities outside the U.S. However these cuts seem to be focused on staff that report up through the corporate structure, regardless if they are physically located at Lilse HQ or other facilities.
This scope does not include Traton employees working outside of International Motors, or (likely) even Traton employees working at International.
Do you know if the Traton layoffs are across all Traton or only US side?
@5cp
What is the European model of work?
Company is not doing well, due to the new Re-Org within Brands and Traton and the "New way of working" plus the industry wide recession, which is highlighting the working model flaws. No one has accountability in the "New way". CTO was removed, several top folks quitting and employee morale down a lot.
Plus additional layoffs coming this and next few weeks in Traton R&D side too. 10%.
The European model of working is clearly not working. Only a matter of time before disgruntled employees start quitting.
Here is the email I received today:
anuary 26, 2026
International employees,
I want to share an important update about changes we’re making across our organization and, most importantly, what it means for you.
As I’ve outlined over the course of last year, the industry is experiencing an ongoing freight recession, as customers remain cautious amid market uncertainties. We need to balance our organizational structure with current market conditions so we can deliver on the goals that we set together.
As a result, we are rightsizing our workforce by approximately 300 roles across all locations. This action is intended to help us strengthen International for the future. This was a difficult decision to make, and it was not taken lightly.
For a majority of those whose roles are affected, your manager and HR partners will reach out to you directly this week. In line with our core values, we are committed to treating everyone with respect, dignity, and care. We will provide individual support and career transition resources. Detailed information will be shared during individual conversations.
We fully recognize that behind every role is an individual, a family, and real efforts that have shaped our company. On behalf of the entire executive leadership team, we thank all of you for your contributions.
We are committed to keeping the lines of communication open and supporting you through this transition.
Sincerely,
Mathias Carlbaum
President and CEO
@3yv do you work in HR at International? Do you know when and does this include HQ employees? And are they planning to layoff the rest of remote employees? I know they've been slowly laying off remote employees but haven't laid off all.
@2ta it's coming soon, 20%
A lot of remote workers have been let go recently. Badge in and outs are being monitored. Employees are being reminded to adhere to the 4 days a week in office policy.