GM to begin layoffs at Del. Saturn plant (872 jobs)

http://www.baltimoresun.com/business/bal-bz.saturn22may22,0,5763740.story?coll=bal-business-headlines

General Motors Corp. plans to temporarily lay off 872 workers from its plant near Wilmington, Del., this summer, a company spokesman said yesterday.

The layoffs will come as GM stops production of its Saturn L series at the factory next month, a year earlier than planned. Last year, the plant was shut down for 12 weeks because of weak sales, and 400 workers were laid off as production was trimmed to one shift.

"Ultimately, we couldn't justify continuing the product because the market didn't want the product," said GM spokesman Dan Flores.

The plant will be retooled to begin production of the Pontiac Solstice in the middle of 2005, and many of the workers will be brought back then, said company spokesman Dan Flores.

...more...

http://www.fox19.com/Global/story.asp?S=1886927

GM to temporarily idle SUV plant

General Motors plans to idle production at its SUV plant in the Dayton suburb of Moraine for a week next month to better match production with demand. The plant's four-thousand workers will go on temporary layoff June 14th and return to work June 21st. The plant produces mid-sized sport utility vehicles, including the GMC Envoy, Chevrolet Trailblazer and Buick Rainier.

...

Flores says sales of GM's mid-sized SUVs remain solid and haven't really been affected by recent hikes in gasoline prices.

must be contagious

The Saturn Plant is talking about more than 1 year shut down to re-tool. The Dayton plant announced a 1 weel shut down, but yesterday, all I heard was consumers not buying SUV's and big trucks because of the hight gas prices. I'm worried about that Dayton plant changing from 1 week shut down, to indefinate.

If the major automakers of America are too ignorant to make smaller cars, then let them die.

I can't fault the automakers for building what their customers asked for. Most people who buy them don't think about how to fuel it until gas prices skyrocket.....then they say, hey I can't afford this thing.

It's not only the American car makers this time either. I don't remember which ones, but several foreign makers have been promoting the "full size pickup", or the "large SUV luxury". Everyone wanted in on the $$.

I feel for the unemployed workers that have to suffer the consequences of re-tooling time because some fickle people changed their minds again.

I remember my Grandpa's plant would give 2 weeks paid vacation but always the 4th of July week and the week after, and sometimes an unpaid 3rd week - while they did major maintenence and re-tooled for a new model year.

By ever trying to make the Saturn in Delaware (and I live in Delaware) because it ruined the whole "Saturn mystique" and ended the illusion that it was a truly separate company doing things its own way.

As a supposedly visionary branch, the Saturns should've been leading the way for hybrids. Then there'd still be waiting lists for Saturns.

I remember the Saturn introduced as a "new kind of car from a new kind of company" and there was a campaign of soft-focus "good feeling" PR about the company before they had even made any cars.

After about one year the workers knew it was a scam and joined UAW. The "Saturn mystique" ended shortly thereafter.

SUVs and trucks. Is it really such a surprise to everyone that fuel prices are going up? Uless you lived under a rock for the past 30 years there has been a problem with supply and demand of fossil fuels which will one day run out! It's time to stop pretending all is grand and move forward with alternative sources. People are already excited about OPEC saying it will produce more oil but do you really think that will last? What will it really take for us to realize that?

Saturn bet the farm on its L series. Bad bet.

My brother-in-law won his arbitration case against Saturn after shelling out over $21,000 for an LW200 a couple of years ago. The car was a rolling electrical nightmare! Climate control system failures, power window failures, etc., etc. All because of badly designed and manufactured computer chips.

Saturn countered every claim with: 'Oh, that's just an inconvenience, not a real problem with the car!'

The arbitrator awarded him with his money back. Saturn got it's car back.

I am sorry for all of the hard-working people at Saturn who tried to do their best with an ill-conceived product.