Cummins Unit to Consolidate S.C. Plants

Diesel engine maker Cummins Inc. said it will consolidate turbocharger operations at two South Caroline plants and may cut jobs in the unit later this year.

Cummins Turbo Technologies produces turbochargers for a range of diesel engines at two facilities in the Charleston area, which together employ about 530 people, the company said late Friday.

Cummins said that while the consolidation will not result in any immediate changes in employee levels in the area, “some reductions are expected later in 2009 and in 2010 as the transition to the single location progresses.”

Cummins Inc. has had a manufacturing presence in the Charleston area since the 1970s. Cummins Turbo Technologies, then known as Holset Engineering, began operations in Charleston in 1989.