Intermet Corp. has announced plans to close its New River Foundry in Radford on Dec. 12 and dismiss its remaining 76 workers, two union officials said Wednesday.

Intermet, based in Fort Worth, Texas., did not return a message left for a company official.

The closure plan was revealed by Eddie Lowery, the Roanoke-based subdistrict director for the United Steelworkers International, and Ken Doss, president of the steelworkers local union at the plant. They said Intermet outlined its plans in an Oct. 15 letter, which was signed by a company human resources official, Doug Howell.

"The entire New River Foundry will be closed, and layoffs are expected to be permanent," Lowery said, quoting from the letter.

Intermet has been in bankruptcy court for 14 months, grappling with the harsh economic conditions. The cast-metal components it manufactures for automotive and commercial vehicle manufacturers are no longer the profitable business they once were.

Just three months ago, there appeared to be hope. Cerion LLC, a Michigan company that was formed to consolidate cast-metal parts companies struggling during the recession, announced it was in negotiations to buy the New River Foundry.

This week, that company declined to comment.

Doss, a press operator who builds brake calipers, said he was told that potential deal did not go through and a search for a buyer will continue until Dec. 12.

If New River Foundry closes, the region will see yet another automotive employer tank in the recession. Radford will lose a longtime corporate citizen, major employer and a volume purchaser of municipal electricity.

Foundries have operated for decades on West Main Street beside the New River, offering a source of hundreds of jobs but also emitting pollution that has caused concern for nearby residents. Locals are well familiar with a nighttime explosion in 2000 that killed three employees. The company paid a $761,000 fine, then the largest workplace safety fine in Virginia history, rebuilt and resumed operation.

Intermet later closed a sister facility at the same site, the Radford Foundry, in 2003, but in 2004 announced a multimillion dollar investment in new equipment at New River Foundry.

Now, it is poised to close -- apparently because its products are no longer in demand.

Broadly speaking, this closing reflects a regional and national trend. Automotive vehicle production is not centered in Southwest Virginia, but parts manufacturing was once a major industry here.

Those industries have suffered since the slump began in late 2007, and automakers have slashed production in response to a huge drop in demand for their vehicles.

City Manager Tony Cox said before the closure plan was revealed that Radford would take a financial hit should New River Foundry close, but he did not know exactly what size. He said utility sales to the New River Foundry have bolstered the city's general fund for a long time, but the amount has fallen with declining production. Currently, those revenues represent less than 10 percent of the general fund, he said.

Other auto-related firms that have closed or said they would curtail employment include Federal-Mogul Corp. in Blacksburg; Goodyear Tire & Rubber in Radford; Wolverine Advanced Materials in Blacksburg; Corning in Christiansburg; and Volvo Trucks North America in Pulaski County.

"We're deeply distressed that another manufacturing plant is falling off line because of the current state of the economics in this country," Lowery said.