Automotive supplier Yanfeng Automotive Interiors has permanently laid off 55 West Michigan employees as it plans to relocate its North American headquarters to Novi.

ACME — Amid a period of technological upheaval in the automotive industry, West Michigan-based supplier Mann + Hummel USA Inc. is reducing project costs and saving time by partnering, collaborating or aligning with larger OEMs.

Yanfeng US Automotive Interiors Systems II LLC plans to lay off 27 employees from its manufacturing facility located at 7009 W. Mount Hope Highway in Lansing.

As the automotive industry adopts new technologies like autonomous driving, suppliers need to find opportunities to add value. For Yanfeng Automotive Interiors, that opportunity comes from flexible seating, smart surfaces and other technology, said Bryan Nyeholt, vice president of global product and process. Yanfeng, which formed in 2014 after Johnson Controls Inc. spun off the majority of its automotive interiors business to Shanghai-based Yanfeng Automotive Trim Systems Co. Ltd., manufactures a variety of interior components including instrument panels, door panels and consoles. Nyeholt is the keynote speaker for the annual Automotive Supplier Symposium, hosted by Grand Valley State University’s Van Andel Global Trade Center on March 9 at the Richard M. DeVos Center in Grand Rapids. Nyeholt spoke to MiBiz prior to the event about the benefits of the joint venture and how disruptive trends in the automotive industry are driving interior design.