The 400 employees of Johnson Controls in Orangeville have been warned that their jobs may be in jeopardy because of the overall decline of the North American automobile industry.

An employee has disclosed that officials from Michigan visited the plant last Thursday to advise the workers that the firm's current contract for the Orangeville operation expires in July 2009 and unless other work can be found the plant will be closed.

Asked to comment, the Orangeville plant manager, Brock Whitehead, said the firm's head office in Wisconsin would have to be called. Calls made to the head office have not been returned.

On a Johnson Controls Forum blog on the website www.topix.com, one employee confirmed that the employees were told this by management but weren't given any more information. He said the plant currently builds seats and headliners for Chrysler 300, Dodge Charger, Challenger and Magnum.

Rick Schwarzer, Orangeville's chief administrative officer said, "To the best of my knowledge, the Town has not been officially notified of any closure at Johnson Controls. The Town has been in contact with the company and is attempting to discuss the situation with the plant manager."

The 106,000 square foot plant in Orangeville opened for business in 1987 and most of its production has been automobile seats for North American assembly plants.

According to its website, the company, headquartered in Milwaukee, employs 136,000 people in 170 countries.

In 2006, Johnson Controls reported overall sales worth $32.2 billion and said it was the 60th year of sales increases.