The Timken Company's bearing manufacturing plant in St. Thomas, Ontario may finally have seen the bottom of the auto industry's woes pass.

Opened in 1946, St. Thomas manufactures tapered roller bearings, primarily for the auto industry. St. Thomas has also manufactured tapered roller bearings for rail applications.

At one time, the factory ran three shifts and employed over 300 people. By 2008, it was down about 10%. Significant cutbacks began in 2008, however. Last year, more than 70 were laid off. Earlier this year, Timken offered an early retirement incentive package, but only a few accepted.

Then in May, more than 140 employees were laid off -- 70% of the workforce -- leaving just over 70.

But since this most recent round of layoffs, demand from North American automakers has stabilized, and may be trending slightly upward. Timken said it plans no more layoffs at St. Thomas, and, contrary to rumors, also has no plans to close the facility.

The situation there has been helped by the Canadian government's 5251R9N7 Work-Share program, which helps fill in the paycheck gap when workers are put on short hours. Timken St. Thomas has Work-Share approval through the rest of 2009.

St. Thomas also expects to benefit from the Cash for Clunkers program, as auto manufacturers ramp up production of the vehicles most expected to see sales boosts under the program.