GM to close Ohio SUV plant 2 years ahead of plan

[DainBramaged]

General Motors is ending production of its slow-selling mid-sized SUVs on Dec. 23, two years earlier than announced in June.

GM is pulling ahead the closure of its Moraine, Ohio, assembly plant because of market conditions, said GM spokesman Chris Lee. Moraine builds the Chevrolet TrailBlazer and TrailBlazer SS, GMC Envoy and Envoy Denali and Saab 9-7X.

In June, GM said it would close Moraine in 2010 or sooner, Lee said. The closing will idle about 1,100 hourly workers represented by the IUE-CWA electrical workers union. An additional 100 salaried employees work there, Lee said.

U.S. sales of TrailBlazers fell 30.8 percent in September and 27.9 percent for the year to date. Envoy sales were down 19 percent in September.

GM will run production at Moraine in December after earlier deciding to idle production for the month. Workers were told of the new closing date today.

Lee said negotiations are under way with the union to determine whether workers would be offered buyouts and retirement incentives that were offered to employees in June.

GM bought the Moraine plant in 1981 from an appliance maker. It has built vehicles since.

1100 Union workers out on waivers.

http://www.autonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081003/ANA02/810039940/1176 (subscription only)

[yodoobo]

1. Just GM's way of saying Merry Christmas

to its loyal employees

What a shitty company.

That plant is somewhat unique in that it was the only assembly plant that was IUE union as opposed to UAW.

IMO, what doomed that plant is the combination of a now unwanted product (SUV's), and the issue of healthcare costs. GM had successfully passed on the cost of healthcare to the UAW, however this plant being a "one-off" and not UAW, GM was still paying the healthcare costs directly.

I hoping the employees there can get a transfer to a UAW plant, but it doesn't look good.