AP says General Motors to announce 14 plant closures on Monday
by Chris Paukert on May 28th 2009 at 10:55AM 
According to a source at The Associated Press, General Motors will announce the closure of 14 factories on Monday morning. The shutterings will reportedly occur by the end of 2010, and are being viewed as part of GM's widely anticipated plans to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.The move would not be completely unexpected, as GM had previously announced that it expects to have to close 16 plans by the end of next year, resulting in some 21,000 pink slipped workers. As GM has already announced that an engine plant in Massena, New York and a stamping plant in the Grand Rapids, Michigan area will be shutting down, this would bring the full tally to 16.
According to the AP report, factory-level union leaders are unaware of which plants will be axed, but the plan is said to include four assembly facilities, along with stamping, engine, and transmission operations.
[Source: Associated Press (via Chron) | Image: Dan Kitwood/Getty]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
MyTireMonkey 11:06AM (5/28/2009)
Here's some more horrible news for the US auto industry. Hate to see this. My thoughts and prayers are with everyone in the GM family.
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JGN 11:03AM (5/28/2009)
Finally, GM can start the rebuilding in earnest. Almost all of the attempts up until this point were conscious denials of how bad the situation they are in is.
GM has a long way to go if it wants to reclaim its number one status, but at least they are being realistic about it now.
I wonder what the surviving brands will be, I hope Saturn is kept on as a youth brand, similar to Scions relationship with Toyota.
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jpm100 11:53AM (5/28/2009)
GM restructured heavily in the years leading up to 2008 despite what the narrative says.
And although these plant closures may make it more profitable in this recession, when we recover they'll could be disadvantaged in capacity with a loss in marketshare that will take decades and 10's of billions to recover.
Dude 12:00PM (5/28/2009)
@JGN
Where have you been?
GM was already in the middle of restructuring. They needed about 5 more years to pull it off, but unfortunately "Change" came to America and now they and a lot of other businesses are going under.
As for Saturn. It's gone. The name and the dealerships are for sale to the highest bidder.
Ian 1:04PM (5/28/2009)
@ Dude
If the "Change" refers to the arrival of Obama to the White House I think your in need of a recent history lesson. GM were, as you say, in the middle of a restructuring when the financial sector collapsed last year. The previous administration help out the Banking Sector with the TARP money but to all intents ignored the Auto Industries problems so as to leave them for the new administration.
The new administration are not responsible for the auto industries problems and neither is the previous administration. It pretty much of there own making although the problems in the financial sector has accelerated then need for a solution and made finding a solution more difficult.
JGN 12:56PM (5/28/2009)
Clearly those efforts at restructuring were insufficient. Perhaps you missed the part where I said earnest effort to rebuild.
Where the GM leadership failed to take serious enough measures beforehand, almost absolute failure has led to conditions that brought on serious restructuring this time around.
Cougs 11:06AM (5/28/2009)
The pic says it all..."Angry Tree-Fence is coming for you GM!"
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J.Crew 5:15PM (5/29/2009)
Love it! Why can I only hear Adam Sandler's voice when I read this comment?
Sucks for GM though. Slash and burn time. Re-org on the scale of which no one can imagine.
Kumar 11:20AM (5/28/2009)
If the Obama is ever going to get a Midwest regional transit corridor made, this would be the perfect political time to do it.
During WWII car factories were repurposed to built other stuff. We almost should consider these times as a war for our way of life, and take this opportunity to repurpose some of the shuttered plants to start cranking out infrastructure pieces for a rail system.
Expensive, heck yeah. But with less 'made in America' to go around these days, rail could be compliment US Auto as another American product.
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Gary 11:22AM (5/28/2009)
It's sad how manufacturing is disappearing in America. And not just cars... everything.
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Venom 11:49AM (5/28/2009)
This is the problem with the fake economy that me have.
Fundamentally in an economy you need to make a product to make money.
We have sent a great deal of our manufacturing out to other countries and we are more or less a financial country now, stock markets and banks ie. fake economy.
We are juggling fake money from the stock markets and the banks hoping it all does not fall apart.
To me it is one giant Ponzi scheme.
My neighbor is one of the GM bosses that set GM up in China back in the early 90's and back then I wondered if you got rid of the jobs from the workers that bought your cars and sent them to another country where those workers could not afford the cars how that would work out and I guess we have our answer.
Ian 1:05PM (5/28/2009)
@ Venom
I've been say exactly that for years. All I'll add is, its not just the loss of the Auto Workers jobs but all the support industries such as parts suppliers, machine & equipment manufacturers etc here in the States that the Detroit three dumped for foriegn companies over the last 15 or so years.
Cougs 2:04PM (5/28/2009)
You want manufacturering to return to the US? Then don't complain about prices being high at the onset of the shift back or that you have to save more to buy things and, in turn, enjoy fewer luxuries. While I don't have a problem doing so and living simply, the majority of America wants cheap luxuries...you want cheap, you have to cut costs. The "problem" you are talking about is not found within the companies, it is found within the consumers.
On your other point, there is nothing wrong with being a monetary and transactional based economy (look at Switzerland) you just have to know how to make it work. Just think about how nice it would be if we owned all of China's debt and other countries came to us for credit...
jamie 11:24AM (5/28/2009)
GM is coming up for one last grasp of breath before the inevitable drowning.
Major GM bondholders OK revised deal
GM reports that bondholders would get an increased stake in the company if they agree to not fight plans for a quick bankruptcy turnaround.
By Chris Isidore, CNNMoney.com senior writer
Last Updated: May 28, 2009: 10:57 AM ET
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The Treasury Department and a committee of major bondholders at General Motors have reached a deal that could give creditors a larger stake in GM than previously offered as long as they agree not to fight the government's plans for a quick bankruptcy at GM.
The agreement, revealed in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing by GM (GM, Fortune 500) early Thursday, would essentially give the bondholders 10% of the company but also give them the rights to buy an additional 15% of the company's stock at a low price.
The deal is unlikely to allow GM to avoid bankruptcy, however. If anything, it might clear away potential obstacles to the government's plans to use bankruptcy as a way to turn around the nation's largest automaker.
More details at
http://money.cnn.com/2009/05/28/news/companies/gm_bondholders/index.htm?section=money_latest
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why not the LS2LS7? 11:41AM (5/28/2009)
That's interesting. You post your "Jamie's guide on how to save GM" multiple times and now you say it can't be done? What gives?
jamie 11:55AM (5/28/2009)
GM can be saved without going into bankruptcy. Rick Wagoner was absolutely right on this account. That is why the Feds forced him out and replaced him with Fritz Henderson who was more willing to do their dirty work.
Obama has no clue on how to run a large multi-national corporation let alone our once great nation. What really irks me is that both Obama and Wagoner graduated from the same business school at Harvard.
BoxerFanatic 12:20PM (5/28/2009)
Just a slight point...
Obama graduated from harvard, but I believe that was harvard law school, not business.
Not that most of the clowns involved care about business OR the rule of law...
FordFan 11:36AM (5/28/2009)
So basically, the more and more it looks like, no matter what, I will be taking a killing on my GM stock? Does this mean that no matter what form of bankruptcy GM goes into, I will lose all my common stock? I bought when I THOUGHT it couldn't go any lower about 6 months ago....boy was I wrong! I should just unload and at least recoup some money before they file huh? Just looking for some pointers wherever I can get them. I knew I shoulda bought Ford!
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Jeff Madson 11:42AM (5/28/2009)
6 months ago you thought GM wouldn't go bankrupt? REALLY?
why not the LS2LS7? 11:43AM (5/28/2009)
You don't lose your common stock, you're an equityholder, not a creditor. Your common stock will just become closer to worthless.