PITTSBURG, Kansas, August 19, 2008 (AP) - A southeast Kansas community is losing one of its biggest employers, along with about 600 jobs.

California-based Superior Industries will close its Pittsburg plant by Christmas.

The manufacturer has had a Pittsburg presence for about 20 years, with a payroll of $27 million.

Superior Industries makes aluminum wheels for the automotive industry, mostly light trucks and SUV's. It has plants in the U.S., Europe and Mexico.

Employees at the Pittsburg plant got word of their pending layoffs Tuesday.

The cuts will begin in late October, with all 600 jobs to be eliminated by Christmas.

Pittsburg's economic development director, Mark Turnbull, calls the closing a shock but notes the U.S. auto industry is struggling.