Autoblog

Looks like that Moraine, Ohio plant that was going to be shut down next year is actually going to be shuttered on December 23rd, just in time for Christmas. This is the plant responsible for production of the GMC Envoy, Chevy Trailblazer and Saab 9-7X. The General had already slowed the plant to just one shift as SUV sales, particularly sales of old SUVs like these, continue to tumble, but the plant was expected to remain open until at least early next year. On Friday the remaining 1,100 workers were gathered and told of the revised plan.

The closure isn't a total surprise, as General Motors had already announced that the Dayton-suburb plant would be closed so the company could focus more on production of small cars. That initial announcement seemed to indicate a 2010 closure, but the company has continually revised the closing date until this most recent word came. Moraine is one of four GM plants that are going to be shut down. When Janesville, Wis.; Oshawa, Ontario; and Toluca, Mexico join Moraine in closure, a total of 8,350 workers will be looking for new jobs.

[Source: Detroit News]

GM's Oshawa Truck plant has been slated for closure in 2009, but GM has announced that the embattled plant will still build the Silverado Two-Mode hybrid beginning later this year. The move was well received by the CAW, which hasn't exactly been playing nice with the General since it got word of the plant's closure. The CAW threw up a blockade of GM's Canadian headquarters from June 4-15 in response to the General's announcement that it would close the facility. There has been some talk about perhaps switching the plant to car production, but GM has made no announcements and CEO Rick Wagoner didn't sound too optimistic about the plant's future when he announced the closing. At least the hybrid Silverado will help ensure that the plant has steady production for the near-term, but it'll likely have to be a lot more popular than the Tahoe hybrid if it's going to help Oshawa Truck stay open. Thanks for the tip, LIP!

[Source: CBC]

Hourly workers at two Tower Automotive plants have voted to accept pay cuts that will ensure their plants remain open as the supplier struggles to emerge from bankruptcy. Tower had asked a judge for the power to cancel union contracts and cut workers as it saw fit, but the acceptance of wage reductions at these two plants have prompted the company to withdraw its request.

About 2,100 hourly workers will be affected by these pay cuts at plants in Bluffton, Ohio and Elkton, Michigan. Bluffton UAW members will be receiving a pay cut of about 75 cents an hour, while Elkton workers will see their hourly wages drop by about $1. Another plant run by Tower Automotive in Clinton Township, Michigan also voted on and approved a two-year contract extension with no changes. Tower Automotive had reached these tentative deals with the UAW and USW in late July and have been waiting since that time for union members to ratify the arrangement.

Clearly members of the United Auto Workers and the United Steelworkers of America that represent these facilities realized they would either have to accept a pay cut or risk the closing of the plants all together.

[Source: Detroit Free Press]

It looks like General Motors will have no problem meeting its goal of cutting 30,000 jobs in the U.S., according to United Autombile Workers president Ron Gettelfinger.

With about a week to go before GM's employee buyout offer expires, about 25,000 UAW members have signed up (around 22 percent of the UAW's GM membership) and Gettelfinger expects the final number to be at least 30,000. Another 8,500 workers at bankrupt auto parts supplier Delphi have accepted buyout offers, more than a third of its UAW membership. Delphi is planning eventually to cut 14,000 UAW jobs.

[Source: New York Times]