GM cutting production by 250,000 vehicles in Q1

General Motors has just announced it will cut vehicle production in the first quarter of 2009 by 250,000 units. The slowdown in production will reportedly affect some 21 factories in the U.S., Canada and Mexico, which may see their traditional shut-down period over the holidays extended through the end of January, and in some cases into February. This means that most GM factories in North America will sit idle for nearly a third of Q1 2009. GM has not specified which plants will be affected and how, but some workers were already notified this morning of the extended shut down period. We expect a press release from the General later today with more specifics, so stay tuned.

UPDATE: Follow the jump for official press release from GM detailing exactly which plants in the U.S., Canada and Mexico will be affected.

[Source: The Detroit Free Press, Photo by Bill Pugliano/Getty]

PRESS RELEASE

GM Announces Significant Production Cuts For Q1 '09

Moves In Direct Response to Rapidly Deteriorating Market Conditions

DETROIT - General Motors announced today a significant reduction of planned production for the first quarter of 2009 due to the ongoing and severe drop in industry sales, which were down 36 percent in November overall and 41 percent for GM (2007 vs. 2008). The impact of these and recently announced actions to adjust production with market demand, will result in the temporary idling of approximately 30 percent of GM's North American assembly plant volume during the first quarter of 2009 and will remove approximately 250,000 units from production.

The speed and severity of the U.S. auto market's decline has been unprecedented in recent weeks as consumers reel from the collapse of the financial markets and the resulting lack of credit for vehicle financing.

The following U.S., Canada and Mexico operations impacted by today's announcement include:

U.S.:

• Ft. Wayne (Ind.) - Chevy Silverado, GMC Sierra Light Duty Regular and Extended Cab
• Flint Assembly (Mich.) - Chevy Silverado, GMC Sierra Heavy Duty Regular and Crew Cab & Medium Duty
• Wentzville (Mo.) - Chevy Express, GMC Savanna
• Lansing Delta Township (Mich.) - Buick Enclave, GMC Acadia, Saturn Outlook
• Pontiac Assembly (Mich.) - Chevy Silverado, GMC Sierra Heavy Duty Extended Cab
• Spring Hill (Tenn.) - Chevy Traverse
• Fairfax Assembly (Kan.) - Chevrolet Malibu/Hybrid, Saturn Aura/Hybrid
• Arlington Assembly (Texas) - Full Size SUVs: Chevy Suburban, Tahoe & Tahoe Hybrid, GMC Yukon, Yukon XL & Yukon Hybrid, Cadillac Escalade/Escalade ESV & Escalade Hybrid
• Lansing Grand River (Mich.) - Cadillac STS & CTS
• Orion (Mich.) - Chevy Malibu, Pontiac G6
• Detroit-Hamtramck (Mich.) - Buick Lucerne, Cadillac DTS
• Shreveport (La.) - Chevy Colorado, GMC Canyon, Hummer H3 & H3T
• Bowling Green (Ky.) - Chevy Corvette, Cadillac XLR
• Wilmington (Del.) - Pontiac Solstice, Saturn Sky, Opel GT

Canada:

• Oshawa Consolidated - Chevy Impala
• Oshawa Truck - Chevy Silverado, GMC Sierra Light Duty Extended and Crew Cab
• CAMI - Chevy Equinox, Pontiac Torrent

Mexico:

• Silao - Chevy Silverado, GMC Sierra Light Duty Crew Cab, Chevy Avalanche, Cadillac Escalade EXT
• Ramos 2 - Chevy HHR, Saturn VUE, Chevy Captiva
• San Luis Potosi - Chevy Aveo, Pontiac G3

As a result of these assembly plant actions, GM will also continue to assess its powertrain and stamping capacity needs and make adjustments as appropriate.