Superior Industries Faces $5-Million Pretax Charge

Superior Industries International Inc. said it will close its wheel manufacturing plant in Newmarket, Ontario, in Canada, and shift the production to more efficient plants in the United States, resulting in a pretax charge of about $5 million in the fourth quarter.

Superior, a Van Nuys-based maker of wheels for the Big Three U.S. auto makers, said that the plant closure would result in the layoff of about 180 workers and that severance payments to those employees would account for most of the fourth-quarter charge. Superior employs about 3,000 people overall.

The Canadian production will be transferred to Superior’s plants in Pittsburg, Kan., and Rogers, Ark. In the fourth quarter of 1989, Superior earned $4.99 million on sales of $60.9 million, and it expects to post a modest profit in this year’s fourth quarter despite the charge, said R. Jeffrey Ornstein, Superior’s chief financial officer.

Superior also said it plans to stop making certain other auto parts that are not profitable, such as accessories for recreational vehicles and light trucks.