Mack Trucks plans layoffs at Pennsylvania, Maryland factories

Mack Trucks said Thursday it will lay off up to 450 workers from factories in Pennsylvania and Maryland due to the impact of tariffs and other economic factors.

The company will cut between 250 to 350 jobs at the Lehigh Valley Operations in Lower Macungie Township, Pennsylvania, over the next 90 days.

Mack Trucks will lay off between 50 to 100 workers from its factory in Hagerstown, Maryland, by May 2. This is in addition to 43 people already laid off earlier this year from the Hagerstown facility, the company said.

“Heavy-duty truck orders continue to be negatively affected by market uncertainty about freight rates and demand, possible regulatory changes, and the impact of tariffs,” Kimberly Pupillo, a spokeswoman for Mack Trucks, told FreightWaves in an email. 

“We regret having to take this action, but we need to align production with reduced demand for our vehicles. This is considered an indefinite layoff. We can’t say when we’ll need to increase production as it depends on the market, but we look forward to calling people back as soon as that’s necessary.”

Mack Trucks’ Lehigh Valley Operations is a heavy-duty truck manufacturing facility that focuses on assembling all Class 8 Mack trucks for North American and export markets.

The plant in Hagerstown develops and manufactures all of Mack’s heavy-duty diesel engines, transmissions and drivelines.

Mack Trucks, founded in 1900, is a heavy- and medium-duty truck maker. The company also has a manufacturing facility in Roanoke, Virginia, and employs more than 2,000 workers.

Since 2000, Mack Trucks has been a subsidiary of Sweden-based Volvo Group, which purchased Mack and its former parent company Renault Véhicules Industriels for $1.8 billion.

North American Class 8 truck orders totaled 15,700 units in March, declining 14% compared to February, and 22% year-over-year, according to the latest report from analytics firm FTR Transportation Intelligence.

“The implementation and continued threat of tariffs among North American trading partners combined with ongoing economic and freight market uncertainty have significantly dampened fleet investment in Class 8 trucks and tractors in recent months,” FTR Transportation Intelligence said.

The Trump administration launched its broad “reciprocal” tariff plan for about 90 U.S. trade partners April 2, including a baseline 10% tariff on trade partners, as well as 25% tariffs on certain imported vehicles and auto parts.

A few hours after the reciprocal tariffs went into effect, Trump announced he was pausing the higher tariffs, except for China.

Imported goods from China to the U.S. could be hit with tariffs as high as 245%, the White House said on Wednesday.

All U.S. trading partners currently face a 10% baseline levy, except for Canada and Mexico.

Pennsylvania State Rep. Josh Siegel, D-Lehigh, said workers “are being sacrificed at the altar of political theater.”

“Once again, American workers are being sacrificed at the altar of political theater. The tariffs — erratic, broad and poorly targeted — are crushing core U.S. industries like trucking and manufacturing. Supply chains are snarled, costs are soaring, and confidence among employers is collapsing,” Siegel said in a news release. “Communities like the Lehigh Valley, built on generations of hard work and industrial pride, are now being asked to carry the burden of this administration’s incompetence. These are good-paying union jobs that our community cannot afford to lose.”

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