The largest automaker in the United States, the General Motors Co., is set to lay off as many as 1,100 workers at its Lansing Delta Township plant in Michigan. GM will shift its production to another factory in Tennessee.
Last year, the company added 800 jobs at its Spring Hill, Tennessee, plant in order to build the new version of the GMC Acadia SUV. The newer version of Acadia is built on a smaller platform, that is why the production of the said car will be moved, according to Reuters.
However, Tom Wickham, GM’s spokesman, said in an email statement that the Lansing factory will still continue building the Buick Enclave and Chevrolet Traverse. The production will continue after it retools for a month.
Bill Reed, the president of United Auto Workers Local 602 and the one who represents the plant’s workers, shares that most of the staff that will be affected by the production shift from Lansing plant are temporary workers, reported Livemint. The factory is said to employ around 3,000 hourly workers and 250 salaried workers. Reportedly, the workers were given a 60 days notice.
“They say the layoffs are permanent, but I don’t think it will be long before they get us the full capacity,” said Reed. “We’re profitable and every indication is that we will get another product.” Given that, Reed is hopeful that GM will add a new model to the plant’s assembly. If that will happen, then those laid-off workers will soon be called back again.
U.S. President, Donald Trump urged General Motors as well as other automakers to build more cars in the country. This is in relation to Trumps’ promise to boost jobs in the country. Back in January, GM announced that they will invest $1 billion in U.S. factories.
Meanwhile, Jobs & Hire reported that General Motors Co. and Honda Motor Co. Ltd. entered into a partnership in order to work on the next generation fuel-cell technology.
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