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Truchan v. Condumex6/21/2002
UNPUBLISHED
Defendant Condumex, Inc., appeals as of right the trial court's judgment in favor of plaintiffs in this breach of contract action concerning severance pay. We reverse and remand.
I. Basic Facts And Procedural History
Condumex, which is headquartered in Mexico, manufactures products used in the automobile industry. Before June 1998, Condumex maintained facilities in Arlington, Texas and Livonia, Michigan. Condumex employed all five plaintiffs in various capacities in its Livonia facility. On December 8, 1997, Condumex announced that it would be ceasing its operations in Livonia, explaining in an "information sheet" to its employees:
The Company has decided to consolidate its operations in Texas. The entire Livonia, Michigan operation will be moved to the Company's offices in Arlington, Texas. We expect that the transfer of operations will be completed sometime between March 1, 1998 and (but not later than) June 30, 1998. The intent of Condumex is to relocate all employees from Livonia to Arlington as part of the transfer.
We are planning on constructing our own office and warehouse building in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. We estimate that the new building will be completed during 1999. In order to induce all employees to remain with the Company, the following items will be provided to each employee of the Livonia office:
• An offer is hereby made to relocate your position with the Company to Texas, at the same rate of pay and under the same terms and conditions of employment (see the Condumex, Inc. Associate Handbook of Policies and Procedures) as that which exists in Livonia.
• Condumex will pay each employee the actual expense of moving the furniture and belongings of the employee from his/her current residence to the Dallas/Fort Worth area. It is anticipated that the cost will be between $5,000.00 and $7,500.00 per employee family.
• The Company will make available a local (Texas) real estate agent for consultation and information regarding the move to the Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas area. The Company plans on bringing him to Livonia to make a presentation to the employees about their move to Texas, and he will be available by telephone on a permanent basis.
• The Company will pay for transportation by bus, airplane (coach fare) or train for the employee, his/her spouse, children and other dependents (as defined by the IRS Form 1040 dependent requirements) to move to the Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas area.
• Upon arrival in Texas, payment of up to one (1) month's rent in an apartment (or comparably priced hotel) to allow the employee and his/her family to find a permanent residence.
• It is the strong desire of the Company that all employees will make the move to Texas. The same jobs are available in Texas, and therefore, this is not a layoff situation. In the event an employee decides that he or she does not want to stay with the Company, the Company will view that situation as a voluntary termination of employment by the employee.
• This offer of employment will remain open until January 30, 1998.
Subsequent discussions between management and employees convinced Condumex to supplement the assistance it was offering employees moving to Texas, which Condumex detailed in a January 30, 1998 memorandum using a question and answer format. The memorandum made clear that Condumex would not be guaranteeing employment to employees who moved to Texas and that " he status of all employees as at-will employees is not going to be altered in any way." In response to a question concerning whether employees who elected not to move to Texas wou
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