BREWER – The city’s largest employer, Lemforder Corp., is cutting more than a dozen positions at its auto component plant located in the East-West Industrial Park.

“We have to eliminate 14 positions at the plant,” Frank Buscemi, spokesman for ZF Lemforder’s North America headquarters in Northville, Mich., said Wednesday. “We’ve offered anyone who is close to retirement that option.

“If 14 people volunteer [to retire early], we won’t lay off anybody,” he said.

Of the 14, “more than half, at this time yesterday, had early buyouts or early retirements,” Buscemi said. “They voluntarily decided to leave with a severance package.”

Lemforder Corp., an auto parts maker that employs about 230 people at the Brewer operation, has until Dec. 8 to make the cuts.

“The reason for the job reduction is volume reduction in the industry, not low productivity,” Buscemi said. “Our customers have cut the number of cars being built; in consequence, we have less parts to build.”

Brewer’s auto parts plant, the first built in North America by the German-based ZF Lemforder, is part of the parent company’s car chassis division.

City leaders have been in contact with the local plant and are working with effected employees.

“We want to make sure they are able to access services to find retraining and employment opportunities,” Tanya Pereira, economic development specialist for the city, said Wednesday. “We understand that the automotive industry is going through a very difficult time and will work with Lemforder to provide any assistance they need.

“It’s not just the plant, it’s the industry,” she added. “They are highly productive.”

The Brewer Lemforder plant was constructed in 1980 and at one time employed more than 300 people. The Lemforder parent company operates 122 plants in 26 different countries, with 23 located in North America.