GM laying off 510 amidst slow Cadillac, small car sales

Wed, 12 Nov 2014

General Motors is laying off about 510 workers from two factories beginning in January, and it could be months before the automaker needs some of that latent capacity to come back on line. A combination of poor sales and high dealer inventories are prompting the cutbacks, according to Automotive News.

The largest changes come at GM's Lansing Grand River plant, where the Cadillac ATS and CTS are made. An entire shift of about 350 workers is being laid off, but the automaker hopes to find positions for some of them at other nearby factories. The decision leaves just a single shift building vehicles there. According to Automotive News, the move is partially spurred by Johan de Nysschen's plan to make Cadillac a more exclusive brand.

The lost shift will likely return for production of the next-generation Chevrolet Camaro at the plant, according to the report, but GM isn't saying when that will be. A previous announcement from the Canadian Auto Workers union indicated that the Oshawa, Ontario, factory would lose the coupe in late 2015 or early 2016.

GM is also laying off 160 workers in phases from its Lake Orion Assembly plant, which builds the Chevrolet Sonic and Buick Verano. According to an unnamed worker speaking to Automotive News, the cutbacks are part of a plan to reduce production at Lake Orion by about 16 percent. There is no indication when the employees might be back on the line.

By Chris Bruce