Oshawa plant closing

[bulks]

I read that earlier on..

General Motors extends factory shutdowns; Oshawa, Ont., plant will be affected

By Tom Krisher, The Associated Press

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DETROIT - General Motors Corp. has decided to extend the temporary summertime closure of seven factories including its car plant in Oshawa, Ont., because widespread temporary shutdowns will not be enough to control a burgeoning supply of some models, the company said Tuesday.


GM spokesman Chris Lee said the company will add up to four weeks to temporary shutdowns at the Detroit-Hamtramck; Lansing, Mich., Grand River; Orion Township, Mich.; Oshawa; Lordstown, Ohio; Shreveport, La.; and Spring Hill, Tenn., assembly plants.


The closures might not be the end of GM's efforts to keep inventory down because of the slumping U.S. auto market, Lee said Tuesday.


"We recognize our product output needs to be adjusted on a regular basis," Lee said. "We've been doing it now for 18 months, unfortunately, on a very regular basis. So by all means it's possible."


GM announced in April that it would temporarily shutter 13 assembly plants in the U.S. and Mexico - some for 11 weeks - laying off nearly 24,000 workers to pare back a bloated inventory.


The latest round of closures, announced at the factories this week, range from one added week at the Oshawa factory to four additional weeks at the Lansing Grand River plant. Most of the factories will go down for three added weeks in July.


In addition, the full-sized van plant in Wentzville, Mo., will see some shift reductions and then removal of the second shift starting on Aug. 10.


Canadian Auto Workers president Ken Lewenza said the decision was just one more signal that the auto industry continues to be in a declining situation relative to sales.


"This is purely for inventory, purely as a result of slow sales. There's some people saying there's light at the end of the tunnel but we're not feeling it at the CAW," Lewenza said.


"Today, all of the manufacturers are experiencing the same kind of challenges, so I don't see it as a problem in isolation at General Motors, it's industry-wide."


GM has cut its Canadian workforce heavily, with the recent closure of a pickup truck plant in Oshawa eliminating 2,600 jobs. It now employs about 7,500 hourly workers in Canada, and plans a shutdown next year of a transmission plant in Windsor which employs 1,400.


Because the daily selling rate for GM vehicles is down due to the slumping U.S. market, it has a 92-day supply of cars and trucks, according to Ward's AutoInfoBank. That's down from a 123-day supply at the end of March. Industry analysts say a 60-day supply is optimal to provide enough of a selection, but not so much that large incentives will be needed to move vehicles.


GM's sales are down 42 per cent through the first five months of the year, while the overall U.S. market is down 37 per cent, according to Autodata Corp.


The Lansing Grand River plant, which makes the Cadillac STS and CTS luxury sedans, gets the longest shutdown of the latest round because inventories of its products are high. According to Ward's, GM has a 106-day supply of the STS and a 98-day supply of the CTS.


GM has been operating under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection since June 1 as it seeks to reorganize and shed unwanted assets. So far it has received about US$20 billion in loans from the U.S. government. It has been promised a total of US$60 billion, including approximately US$9.5 billion from the Canadian and Ontario governments.


-With files from Canadian Press reporter Kristine Owram in Toronto

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/0...s/gm_factories

[FenwickHockey65]

Camaro line will continue most likely.

[super60]

Impala one additional week added to the summer shutdown. No change to Camaro.

[TJ91]

When is this shutdown schedualed?

[TJ91]

Still bad news, atleast it wont affect the Camaro. I hope families will be able to cope with it.

[shawn18]

dont they make impalas in oshwa also not sure but maybe thats the plant they are closing and not the camaro plant i hope so anyway

[shawn18]

thats good to hear but also it sux for the guys in the other plants

[CTS]

[JPAYORK]

My sales rep told me that the last she heard, the Camaro plant would no longer be shutting down as scheduled in July. So far she's been honest with me and right. Guess we'll see.

[67 Convertible]

I think it's the pick-up truck plant in Oshawa, not the Camaro plant

[shawn18]

HOLY SH#T thats alot of dreams comin true in that pic CTS cool!

[super60]

Ok everyone... Impala is down for a two week summer shutdown plus another one week for inventory adjustments for a total of three weeks starting June 25th. Camaro is NOT shutting down. They (Camaro) will ONLY be down for the week of July 6th.

Overtime starts this Saturday. Please no one start to panic...