Sales slump idles 12 GM plants
Production cuts affect 25,000; more shutdowns expected in February
Cutting back
The 12 plants GM will idle later this month:
Car plants
Orion Township, Mich., Wilmington, Del., Kansas City, Kan., Ste. Therese, Quebec,
Oshawa; Ontario; Oklahoma City, and Lordstown, Ohio.
Truck plants
Moraine, Ohio, Doraville, Ga., Shreveport, La., Linden, N.J., and Wentzville, Mo.
Source: General Motors Corp.
By Joe Miller / The Detroit News
DETROIT -- General Motors Corp. will temporarily shut 12 plants this month, idling
25,600 workers, as it cuts production in response to slumping car and truck sales.
GM's latest plant closings come after the giant automaker reported an 18 percent
decline in December sales and are part of ongoing plans to reduce first-quarter
production by 14.5 percent, or 220,000 vehicles.
More shutdowns will likely be announced in February.
"We're taking a big chunk out in January," said GM spokesman Tom Wickham, adding:
"We are looking at schedules and down-time beyond January."
GM already said it will eliminate one of three production shifts on Feb. 12 at its
Pontiac East full-sized pickup plant, resulting in the layoffs of 1,000 workers.
Nine of the 12 plants will be down the week of Jan. 8, four the week of Jan. 15,
three the week of Jan. 22 and four the week of Jan. 29.
Locally, GM will only shut down the Orion Township assembly plant for three weeks
beginning Monday. The plant builds the Buick LeSabre and Park Avenue, Oldsmobile
Aurora and Pontiac Bonneville.
Plants in Moraine, Ohio, Fairfax, Kan., and Oklahoma City will be shuttered as GM
prepares to launch new vehicles. The remaining plants will be closed in response to
GM's bloated inventories. GM had 1.3 million unsold vehicles on hand at the end of
2000.
