The auto industry's struggles have trickled down to another supplier in the New River Valley tied to vehicle manufacturing.

During a week already colored by numerous separate layoff announcements that could affect more than 400 workers, three other regional employers, Wolverine Advanced Materials, Cox Communications and manufacturer North American Housing Corp., described job cuts.

Wolverine, which supplies the automotive market, is cutting 55 workers in Blacksburg. Cox would not say how many employees will be affected. North American will lay off about 40 people at its modular-home building operation in Boones Mill.

Wolverine

Auto industry supplier Wolverine Advanced Materials, a Michigan-based subsidiary of EaglePicher Corp., announced this week it is laying off about 50 hourly workers and five salaried employees across its two Blacksburg locations.

The layoffs are considered permanent and take effect today.

Tina Kozak, a company spokeswoman, said the job cuts reflect the severe downturn affecting automakers and their suppliers.

Job numbers before the layoffs were 205 hourly workers and more than 40 salaried employees, she said.

Tim Douthat, an officer for United Auto Workers Local 3151, said the layoffs were "not entirely a surprise" because Wolverine had recently posted a letter describing tough business conditions in the auto industry.

He said he believes the company did what it could to avoid permanent layoffs.

Wolverine, headquartered in Dearborn, Mich., supplies gasket materials to gasket manufacturers. The materials are used in varied sealing applications, including engines, transmissions, hydraulics and refrigeration compressors for automotive and industrial manufacturers.

Two other auto industry suppliers with operations in the New River Valley, Acument Global Technologies and Intermet Corp., announced layoffs or potential layoffs this week.

EaglePicher Corp., based in Inkster, Mich., was formed in 2006 after EaglePicher Inc. and its United States subsidiaries completed restructuring under Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

Cox Communications

Cox, a provider of cable TV, high-speed Internet and other communication services, has told employees in Roanoke that they will be part of a national work force reduction.

The Atlanta-based company has said it will reduce its national work force by 2 percent by the end of the year.

Cox employs about 23,000 people nationwide and about 200 in Roanoke.

Some positions will be eliminated through voluntary retirement, and others will be cut through layoffs, said Mike Pedelty a Cox spokesman for the Roanoke area.

Pedelty would not say how many local employees will be laid off but said the company is continuing to hire for "some key positions." He said the open positions include network operations and "back-of-office" jobs, but would not say whether they are local opportunities.

"We are a company that needed to evaluate its business to be poised to take advantage of future opportunities," Pedelty said regarding the reasons behind the layoffs.

North American Housing

North American Housing Corp. announced it is idling the company's modular-home building operation in Boones Mill because of ongoing housing market woes. The Maryland-based company, a subsidiary of Champion Enterprises, described the measure as temporary.

Laurie Van Raemdonck, vice president of investor relations, said 40 employees will be laid off from modular-home construction and 12 will remain working in truss and sales operations.

Modular-home employees will probably continue working next week to complete construction of homes already under way, she said.

North American will continue to operate its Front Royal facility.

A company statement reported that "housing sales are very slow during the holiday period of the year normally and this year is an extreme case." North American said it "will resume building complete modular homes in Boones Mill when it becomes practical."

Scott Martin, director of Franklin County's department of commerce and leisure services, said Thursday that the county knows that the housing market downturn and other economic forces will hurt manufacturing jobs for some employers.

"We're going to feel this one," he said. "That's for sure."

Martin said Franklin County has been making the transition from domestic furniture manufacturing to home building, an industry that benefited from the housing boom.

He encouraged affected employees to contact the Franklin Center in Rocky Mount for employment assistance.

In October, North American acknowledged employment had been dwindling for months in Boones Mill but disclosed no specific numbers.

Champion Enterprises is a publicly traded company based in Troy, Mich.

In third-quarter results released Nov. 5, Champion reported a net loss for the quarter of $161.5 million, or a loss of $2.08 per share, compared with profits of $12.9 million, or 17 cents a share, during the same period in 2007.

Champion reported that modular-homes sales totaled $50 million for the third quarter, down from $80 million during the same period in 2007.

In April, the company's stock traded at $11.42 per share. On Nov. 21, the price per share hit a 52-week low of 40 cents.

Champion's stock price closed Thursday at 57 cents per share, down 2 cents.