TRW lays off 36 in Auburn

Ripples from the troubled automotive manufacturing industry have found their way to Auburn as a major employer this week laid off 36 workers.

TRW Automotive, a global auto component maker that operates a plant at Cranebrook Drive in Auburn, informed the affected workers - all hourly employees -- about the job cuts Wednesday night.

The move was driven by the weak automotive retail market in North America, said John Wilkerson, a spokesman from the company’s headquarters Livonia, Mich.