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GASTONIA, N.C. – Local officials of the United Auto Workers said dozens of workers will be getting pink slips by the end of May as more Freightliner layoffs are expected in Gaston County.

It’s the latest round of company layoffs, adding to the county’s soaring unemployment rate.

Freightliner executives have been cutting production in all its North Carolina facilities and systematically laying off waves of workers.

In a company statement, they cited lessening consumer demand.

Former Freightliner employees protested Saturday, saying the company is building plants in Mexico for cheaper labor. They partially blame the relocation on the North American Free Trade Agreement.

But they also put the blame squarely on the shoulders of local leaders, saying representatives like Sue Myrick aren’t doing enough to make free trade fair.

“Free trade is something I always believe in from the standpoint we have to trade with different people,” Myrick said. “That’s what happens in a global economy.”

Imogene Hancock, who was laid off in October, two years before retirement, said she is going back to school because she has little hope of being rehired at Freightliner.

Local officials of the United Auto Workers said they plan to host another anti-NAFTA rally in the near future.