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GM to lay off 1,600 workers at 3 factories
By TOM KRISHER
The Associated Press
Thursday, October 16, 2008; 2:04 PM
DETROIT -- Another 1,600 workers at three General Motors Corp.
factories will be laid off indefinitely over the next few months as
the company tries to control its inventory amid a worsening U.S. sales
slump.
About 700 workers at GM's pickup truck plant in Pontiac will be
furloughed starting Feb. 1, while another 500 at the Detroit-Hamtramck
sedan factory will be laid off starting Jan. 12, spokesman Chris Lee
said Thursday. In addition, 400 workers at a two-seat sports car
assembly plant in Wilmington, Del., also will be out of work starting
Dec. 8.
Workers were notified of the company's actions Sept. 29, Lee said.
The Detroit-Hamtramck plant, which makes the Buick Lucerne and
Cadillac DTS full-size sedans, already is down to a single daily
shift. GM will reduce its assembly line speed from 56 to 38 cars per
hour to achieve the layoffs, Lee said.
The Pontiac plant, which makes the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra
pickups, also is operating on one shift and will see its line speed go
from 55 trucks to 24 trucks per hour.
In Wilmington, the plant that makes the Pontiac Solstice, Saturn Sky
and Opel GT roadsters will go from two shifts per day to one, Lee
said.
"We don't need excess inventory out there," Lee said. "We adjust up
and down to the market. Pickup trucks, as you know, have been
impacted, and in this case our large luxuries have been impacted and
the small two-seater niche products as well."
Lee said the company plans no further plant announcements at this time.
GM announced Monday that it would shutter its metal parts stamping
factory near Grand Rapids by the end of 2009, costing 1,520 jobs. It
also sped up the end of SUV production at its Janesville, Wis., plant
to Dec. 23, eliminating another 1,200 positions.
Industry analysts say the sagging U.S. auto market will force GM to
close more plants. U.S. sales overall are down 13 percent for the
first nine months of this year, with predictions that automakers will
sell 2 million fewer vehicles than they did last year.
GM is burning through more than $1 billion in cash per month and
analysts say it may reach the minimum amount of money to run the
company sometime next year. GM's sales are down 18 percent, and the
company has lost $57.5 billion in the past 18 months, largely because
of tax accounting changes.
GM shares rose 16 cents, or 2.6 percent, to $6.38 in afternoon trading.
(c) 2008 The Associated Press
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