Admin
12-24-04, 03:03 AM
Tue Nov 30, 2004 04:38 PM ET
DETROIT (Reuters) - General Motors Corp. on Tuesday said it will lay off about 950 workers at its Linden, New Jersey, truck plant early next year and cease production of the two sport utility vehicles manufactured at the facility.
GM, which earlier this month said it would close a van plant in Baltimore, said it will stop production of its aging Chevrolet Blazer and GMC Jimmy SUVs due to slow sales. Both SUVs have suffered dwindling sales since being replaced in GM's lineup with more current models.
GM is not closing the Linden plant, but a spokesman said the world's largest automaker is not considering any other vehicles for the facility for now. The plant, built in 1937, is one of GM's oldest in North America.
Under the terms of GM's contract with the United Auto Workers union, the automaker cannot entirely shut the Linden plant. GM can only close the Baltimore van plant and a foundry in Saginaw, Michigan.
GM informed workers at both the Baltimore and Saginaw facilities this fall about plans to close those plants.
GM notified employees at the Linden plant about the layoffs on Tuesday, GM spokesman Dan Flores said. "We don't have an actual date yet. The date will ultimately be driven by the market demand," he said.
However, GM said in a securities filing with regulators that it will make the layoffs in the first quarter next year.
GM will look for other opportunities within the company for the 110 salaried workers at the plant, Flores said. Unionized workers will continue to be paid for the duration of their current four-year contract.
The plant closures come amid weakening U.S. sales for GM and lost market share to Asian automakers. In the third quarter, GM posted the first loss for its automotive operations since strikes that effectively shut down its North American operations in the third quarter of 1998.
DETROIT (Reuters) - General Motors Corp. on Tuesday said it will lay off about 950 workers at its Linden, New Jersey, truck plant early next year and cease production of the two sport utility vehicles manufactured at the facility.
GM, which earlier this month said it would close a van plant in Baltimore, said it will stop production of its aging Chevrolet Blazer and GMC Jimmy SUVs due to slow sales. Both SUVs have suffered dwindling sales since being replaced in GM's lineup with more current models.
GM is not closing the Linden plant, but a spokesman said the world's largest automaker is not considering any other vehicles for the facility for now. The plant, built in 1937, is one of GM's oldest in North America.
Under the terms of GM's contract with the United Auto Workers union, the automaker cannot entirely shut the Linden plant. GM can only close the Baltimore van plant and a foundry in Saginaw, Michigan.
GM informed workers at both the Baltimore and Saginaw facilities this fall about plans to close those plants.
GM notified employees at the Linden plant about the layoffs on Tuesday, GM spokesman Dan Flores said. "We don't have an actual date yet. The date will ultimately be driven by the market demand," he said.
However, GM said in a securities filing with regulators that it will make the layoffs in the first quarter next year.
GM will look for other opportunities within the company for the 110 salaried workers at the plant, Flores said. Unionized workers will continue to be paid for the duration of their current four-year contract.
The plant closures come amid weakening U.S. sales for GM and lost market share to Asian automakers. In the third quarter, GM posted the first loss for its automotive operations since strikes that effectively shut down its North American operations in the third quarter of 1998.