Keith
12-08-2004, 10:50 AM
GM to lay off 250 to 300 at city assembly plant
By Paul Monies
The Oklahoman
Production cuts at General Motors Corp. will lead to between 250 and 300 layoffs at its Oklahoma City assembly plant in January, the company said Tuesday.
GM said the cutbacks stem from a need to balance supply and demand in the competitive midsize, sport utility vehicle market. The plant employs more than 2,600 people who make seven-passenger versions of the Chevrolet TrailBlazer, GMC Envoy and Isuzu Ascender, as well as the GMC Envoy XUV.
The factory will shut down the first two weeks of January, with workers returning Jan. 18 after Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
GM will slow the assembly line by about 24 percent, which will cause the layoffs. The line speed will be reduced to 32 jobs per employee hour, down from 42 jobs per hour.
"We are obviously making a substantial cut in production," GM spokesman Dan Flores said. "We don't like doing things like this. Under ideal circumstances, we would run every plant at maximum capacity. But we're not immune to the marketplace, and there are times when we have to make adjustments."
The production cuts also will affect some area GM suppliers. Based on GM's cuts, Logistics Insights in Oklahoma City could lay off about 20 people from its work force of 115, plant manager Bill Sauer said. Managers at Collins & Aikman and Johnson Controls Inc., both in Oklahoma City, could not be reached for comment.
Auburn Hills, Mich.-based Inalfa Roof Systems Inc., which makes the sliding rear roof for the GMC Envoy XUV, already closed its northeast Oklahoma City factory.
The production cuts follow four, weeklong shutdowns at GM's Oklahoma City plant earlier this year. The plant will remain on two shifts when production resumes in January.
During the January shutdown, GM workers will receive about 75 percent of their normal wages after taxes from a combination of company-paid supplemental unemployment benefits and state unemployment benefits. Laid-off workers will receive similar wages and retain their health benefits under the United Auto Workers contract. Layoffs will be determined by seniority.
Union officials at Local 1999 didn't return phone calls Tuesday.
Helped by large incentives and attractive financing, GM's midsize SUVs have been selling well lately, although not as fast as GM would like. TrailBlazer sold 23,270 units in November, an increase of 17.7 percent from a year earlier. Envoy had sales of 7,981 for the month, down 8 percent from November 2003. GM doesn't disclose how many of those sales were the seven-passenger models made in Oklahoma City.
The GMC Envoy XUV, made exclusively in Oklahoma City, hasn't caught on with consumers. GM slashed production of that model in the summer and has made just 292 since July, down from 11,353 in the first six months of the year. GM doesn't disclose sales for the XUV, although a spokeswoman has said it hopes to increase sales in the model's second year.
Analysts with Citigroup Smith Barney expect GM to introduce redesigned versions of the TrailBlazer, Envoy and Envoy XUV by 2007. GM's Flores said the company hasn't disclosed its re-engineering schedules. He conceded that vehicle life cycles have gotten shorter in the light-truck market segment.
"Oklahoma City is a very important part of our manufacturing strategy and we anticipate that's going to continue out into the future," Flores said.
Well, I was afraid something like this would happen. But why do they have to do this during the Christmas season? Unfortunately, because of the GM layoffs, it will also affect some of the companies that supply parts for the cars at the assembly plant. So, not only will GM layoff, but it is also reported that some of the suppliers are having to lay off as well.
If you have a job right now and you are making ends meet, then you are blessed :) .
By Paul Monies
The Oklahoman
Production cuts at General Motors Corp. will lead to between 250 and 300 layoffs at its Oklahoma City assembly plant in January, the company said Tuesday.
GM said the cutbacks stem from a need to balance supply and demand in the competitive midsize, sport utility vehicle market. The plant employs more than 2,600 people who make seven-passenger versions of the Chevrolet TrailBlazer, GMC Envoy and Isuzu Ascender, as well as the GMC Envoy XUV.
The factory will shut down the first two weeks of January, with workers returning Jan. 18 after Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
GM will slow the assembly line by about 24 percent, which will cause the layoffs. The line speed will be reduced to 32 jobs per employee hour, down from 42 jobs per hour.
"We are obviously making a substantial cut in production," GM spokesman Dan Flores said. "We don't like doing things like this. Under ideal circumstances, we would run every plant at maximum capacity. But we're not immune to the marketplace, and there are times when we have to make adjustments."
The production cuts also will affect some area GM suppliers. Based on GM's cuts, Logistics Insights in Oklahoma City could lay off about 20 people from its work force of 115, plant manager Bill Sauer said. Managers at Collins & Aikman and Johnson Controls Inc., both in Oklahoma City, could not be reached for comment.
Auburn Hills, Mich.-based Inalfa Roof Systems Inc., which makes the sliding rear roof for the GMC Envoy XUV, already closed its northeast Oklahoma City factory.
The production cuts follow four, weeklong shutdowns at GM's Oklahoma City plant earlier this year. The plant will remain on two shifts when production resumes in January.
During the January shutdown, GM workers will receive about 75 percent of their normal wages after taxes from a combination of company-paid supplemental unemployment benefits and state unemployment benefits. Laid-off workers will receive similar wages and retain their health benefits under the United Auto Workers contract. Layoffs will be determined by seniority.
Union officials at Local 1999 didn't return phone calls Tuesday.
Helped by large incentives and attractive financing, GM's midsize SUVs have been selling well lately, although not as fast as GM would like. TrailBlazer sold 23,270 units in November, an increase of 17.7 percent from a year earlier. Envoy had sales of 7,981 for the month, down 8 percent from November 2003. GM doesn't disclose how many of those sales were the seven-passenger models made in Oklahoma City.
The GMC Envoy XUV, made exclusively in Oklahoma City, hasn't caught on with consumers. GM slashed production of that model in the summer and has made just 292 since July, down from 11,353 in the first six months of the year. GM doesn't disclose sales for the XUV, although a spokeswoman has said it hopes to increase sales in the model's second year.
Analysts with Citigroup Smith Barney expect GM to introduce redesigned versions of the TrailBlazer, Envoy and Envoy XUV by 2007. GM's Flores said the company hasn't disclosed its re-engineering schedules. He conceded that vehicle life cycles have gotten shorter in the light-truck market segment.
"Oklahoma City is a very important part of our manufacturing strategy and we anticipate that's going to continue out into the future," Flores said.
Well, I was afraid something like this would happen. But why do they have to do this during the Christmas season? Unfortunately, because of the GM layoffs, it will also affect some of the companies that supply parts for the cars at the assembly plant. So, not only will GM layoff, but it is also reported that some of the suppliers are having to lay off as well.
If you have a job right now and you are making ends meet, then you are blessed :) .