Fort Wayne withholds $200K in grants from Navistar

Fort Wayne withheld $200,000 in payments to Navistar International Corp. after the company relocating operations to Lisle did not provide job data.

Community Development Director John Urbahns said the city awarded the Warrenville-based truck maker a $500,000 grant in 2006 to keep its employment at 800 or more through 2010, but it disclosed Monday it did not make $100,000 annual payments in 2009 or last year. He says the company did not respond to a city request to verify job levels.

Navistar announced last August it would consolidate some of its northeast Indiana operations in Lisle, putting 1,400 jobs at risk.

Navistar spokesman Ron Wiley says it wouldn't have been appropriate for Navistar to ask for the money after announcing some work was leaving Fort Wayne.