GM Autoworkers Face Layoff After Summer Break

If your current employment involves building a sedan for a domestic automaker, there’s both good and bad news awaiting you. General Motors is extending summer breaks at certain assembly plants and there may be an opportunity for some workers to extend that time off indefinitely, resulting in the least welcome vacations imaginable.

Stagnating sales and a bloated inventory is forcing GM to lengthen its traditional two-week summer shutdown to as many as five weeks for two U.S. factories, according to union officials. The affected plants are Lordstown Assembly, located in Ohio, and Kansas City’s Fairfax Assembly. Lordstown assembles the Chevrolet Cruze while Fairfax is responsible for the midsize Malibu, which has had a horrendous 2017. The Malibu had plenty of company in the doldrums, too. Through May, U.S. car sales were down 11 percent while truck and SUV sales rose by nearly 5 percent, forcing automakers to play favorites.

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MDarringer - 6/15/2017 8:37:07 AM

+1 Boost

The shift away from sedans is happening faster than some manufacturers can respond even though the sedan market will continue to have large volume despite the reduction. It comes down to whether or not you have a horse in the race that can run. At some point, some model attrition will need to happen.

The Malibu is an OK product. The Cruze is an OK product. The Impala is an OK product. Chevy probably needs one sedan not 3. I'd go with the Malibu and kill the other two. The Cruze needs to be replaced by a crossover between the Equinox and the Trax.

vdiv - 6/16/2017 12:24:10 AM

+1 Boost

The current styling is just terrible. The previous Cruze did very well world-wide.

There is a compact sized crossover, it's called the Captiva. It lives pretty much abroad and in some rental fleets.

TheSteve - 6/15/2017 12:34:28 PM

+1 Boost

It's just part of the world-wide automotive slowdown.

vdiv - 6/16/2017 12:29:00 AM

+1 Boost

It will hit these towns hard if they lay off people.