GM Poletown and Warren Transmission shuttering

[hybridy]

"In a press release, the company said it will close the Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly Plant in Detroit and Warren Transmission Operations in Warren. Other plans closing include the Oshawa Assembly Plant in Oshawa, Ontario, the Lordstown Assembly in Warren, Ohio and the Baltimore Operations in White Marsh, Maryland.

According to a spokesperson for GM, the plants will be unallocated which means they will no longer produce vehicles in those plants in 2019. According to the company, the future of the plants will be part of contract talks with the UAW next year."

https://www.wxyz.com/news/general-mo...jobs-to-be-cut

and everyone said a recession isn't coming...detroit feels it first folks

[aj3647]

This will absolutely devastate Lordstown, Ohio [[population: ~3400) and the surrounding area where the GM plant is the largest industrial employer in the entire region.

https://www.freep.com/story/money/ca...re/2112539002/

Auto sales hit record levels in 2016 and are slowing as automakers say they face challenges from both the slowing sales and tariffs on steel and aluminum as part of President Donald Trump's trade war.

Michigan citizens, your vote has consequences. Anyways, if GM is doing this and laying off thousands of white collar workers too, then Ford and Chrysler won't be too far behind since the exact same market pressures apply to them. This is just the beginning.

[313WX]

Well Michigan, I hope you enjoyed the "good" times while they lasted...

[jcole]

And, just watch, in 4 yrs, this will ALL be Gretchen Whitmer's fault. No one will remember that whatever happens started under Snyder, and Trump. Nope, just another damned Dem.

[Honky Tonk]

And, just watch, in 4 yrs, this will ALL be Gretchen Whitmer's fault. No one will remember that whatever happens started under Snyder, and Trump. Nope, just another damned Dem.

Honest-to-god, jcole, if parents would have taught their kids to fend for themselves and not constantly whine about public transportation because they're used to mom driving them around, none of this would be happening.

[Richard]

I am really not seeing tariffs as a deciding factor,during the last recession prices went down to move product at a lower profit margin.

Now the economy is doing better the prices are at if not lower then 2006,supply and demand and prices will go up until a point where a stall occurs which will cause a slowdown.

Could it be that as we become a service oriented country,the pool of those who can actually afford a new car becomes smaller?

With me on the Restruant side food costs doubled and on the manufacturing side steel costs went up as soon as the economy started rolling,before even the trade wars.

[Johnnny5]

Blaming tariffs for these closures is ridiculous. If anything, the lack of tariffs is what is responsible for them. There's simply no way American [[or Canadian) factories can compete with the minuscule wages and benefits South of the border, and as expected I don't see any G.M factories in Mexico on this list!

[Smirnoff]

You can thank the Dems;

NAFTA: Bill Clinton signed it into law on December 8, 1993; the agreement went into effect on January 1, 1994. Clinton, while signing the NAFTA bill, stated that "NAFTA means jobs. American jobs, and good-paying American jobs".

[Richard]

Remember when Ross Perot mentioned that giant sucking sound,I guess he was not far off.

Trump is the doctor handing out the medicine,he did not create the illness.

So now we are once again at a crossroad,like him or not it is clear that we have somewhat of a politician that does not care what anybody thinks and has an agenda to improve this country and try and keep this stuff from happening.

We are all to blame,Detroit and the other city’s that lost industry and decent paying jobs was our wake up call 40 years ago,we ignored it then and the results are pretty clear of the consequences.

So once again we get to choose the future path,but this time we have proof of the downsides.

If we do not do anything to implement change then we really cannot blame anybody else.

[Cincinnati_Kid]

This will absolutely devastate Lordstown, Ohio [[population: ~3400) and the surrounding area where the GM plant is the largest industrial employer in the entire region.

https://www.freep.com/story/money/ca...re/2112539002/



Michigan citizens, your vote has consequences. Anyways, if GM is doing this and laying off thousands of white collar workers too, then Ford and Chrysler won't be too far behind since the exact same market pressures apply to them. This is just the beginning.

Closing down D-Ham will have the same effect on Detroit. I knew something was up when they said Oshawa was closing, but I didn't expect D-Ham and Warren transmission to be on the list.

[401don]

Remember when Ross Perot mentioned that giant sucking sound,I guess he was not far off.

Trump is the doctor handing out the medicine,he did not create the illness.

So now we are once again at a crossroad,like him or not it is clear that we have somewhat of a politician that does not care what anybody thinks and has an agenda to improve this country and try and keep this stuff from happening.

We are all to blame,Detroit and the other city’s that lost industry and decent paying jobs was our wake up call 40 years ago,we ignored it then and the results are pretty clear of the consequences.

So once again we get to choose the future path,but this time we have proof of the downsides.

If we do not do anything to implement change then we really cannot blame anybody else.

Tell me again how the hell putting a 25% tariff on Canadian steel and aluminum helps the Detroit automakers?

[aj3647]

Blaming tariffs for these closures is ridiculous. If anything, the lack of tariffs is what is responsible for them. There's simply no way American [[or Canadian) factories can compete with the minuscule wages and benefits South of the border, and as expected I don't see any G.M factories in Mexico on this list!

That argument only flies if GM was shifting plant production at these facilities to Mexico or some other country. It isn't. It's ending the production entirely. And yes, they SPECIFICALLY cited the tariffs as part of the reason, since the tariffs drove up the cost of producing vehicles by several hundred dollars due to increased steel and aluminum prices.

You can thank the Dems;

NAFTA: Bill Clinton signed it into law on December 8, 1993; the agreement went into effect on January 1, 1994. Clinton, while signing the NAFTA bill, stated that "NAFTA means jobs. American jobs, and good-paying American jobs".

Trump re-negotiated NAFTA and is set to have the new agreement voted on by Congress. Or do you not follow the news? NAFTA is soon to be dead, certainly long before these plants close in December 2019. It's going to be called the "United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement" [[USMCA) now, and it 100% belongs to Donald J Trump. Still want to blame it though?

[313WX]

Closing down D-Ham will have the same effect on Detroit. I knew something was up when they said Oshawa was closing, but I didn't expect D-Ham and Warren transmission to be on the list.

That was a shock to me as well.

As I'm sure anyone at GM or who worked at GM knows, D-Ham was Mary Barra's baby. That was the plant she worked up the ladder in managed before becoming an executive.

So the fact that she's closing it means she gives no fucks beyond pleasing the shareholders.

Buckle up y'all!

[Richard]

Tell me again how the hell putting a 25% tariff on Canadian steel and aluminum helps the Detroit automakers?

Apparently it has had no impact otherwise they would be saving money by increasing production in Canada and not eliminating it.

Steel companies in the US have been ramping up or building new plants,tariffs would have been short lived anyways.

The use of tariffs in order to buy time has been around for awhile,it was used against the Japanese and motor cycles so Harley Davidson could get back on thier feet.

There is a steel plant in northern Michigan that was vacant and slated for demolition that has been purchased and put back into production.

Foreign companies built steel plants close to the southern automakers how come they are not announcing closings? My guess is that it all has little to do with steel.

[Cincinnati_Kid]

Look.. GM is just preparing itself for a impending recession that economists are predicting will happen in late 19 or 2020. It's actually kinda smart so they don't get caught with they're pants down, like in 2007-08.

[Lowell]

Bomb shell, but this report from Crain's uses the phrases "May Close" and "could close", so it seems there is some sort of wiggle room--or GM's fishing for some tax concessions.

General Motors Co. said Monday that it will significantly cut its salaried workforce and could close up to five plants in North America, including in Detroit-Hamtramck and Warren, as part of overhaul of its North American operations in 2019.

The automaker said Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly and Lordstown Assembly in Ohio will not be allocated any products beginning in 2019, while Oshawa Assembly in Canada is scheduled to close late next year. All of the products being assembled at those three plants are expected to stop being produced by the end of 2019.

Propulsion plants in Warren and Maryland will also not be given any product.

GM expects the announced actions to annually contribute to $6 billion in cash savings by 2020, including $4.5 billion in cost reductions and $1.5 billion in lower capital expenditures.

https://www.crainsdetroit.com/automo...restructuring?

[Lowell]

...and, predictably, GM shares are up 5.51% today at last glance. High fives on Wall Street.

[313WX]

Look.. GM is just preparing itself for a impending recession that economists are predicting will happen in late 19 or 2020. It's actually kinda smart so they don't get caught with they're pants down, like in 2007-08.

Meh, not if they still end up with their pants down like in 2007-2008 any way.

Especially if gas prices surge, or Tump implements more tariffs, or rising interest rates further diminishes the demand for new cars.

[hybridy]

having 2 large empty manufacturing facilities so close together will spell disaster for the east side of the metro. i can't imagine what comes next if/when chrysler and ford follow suit.

[313WX]

having 2 large empty manufacturing facilities so close together will spell disaster for the east side of the metro. i can't imagine what comes next if/when chrysler and ford follow suit.

Chrysler at least is planning to build all of their trucks at the east side plants. Even Mack Engine is being re-tooled for assembly work.

That's all fine and dandy though until gas prices surge or FCA's near-future demise finally arrives.

[mikefmich]

Why do I feel like someone just pissed & shit on all our shoes?

[Richard]

Meh, not if they still end up with their pants down like in 2007-2008 any way.

Especially if gas prices surge, or Tump implements more tariffs, or rising interest rates further diminishes the demand for new cars.

You have to figure that they are sitting back in thier chairs looking at legacy and wage costs,something that puts them at a big disadvantage to thier southern counterparts,and thinking,what can we do to reduce this and drive our stock up.

This could all be a ploy,history and emotions has little meaning when it comes to shareholders,never has.

[Cincinnati_Kid]

Why do I feel like someone just pissed & shit on all our shoes?

Because they did. Mary Barra says that the public has stopped buying cars, and are focused on Trucks and SUV's. All the plants they are considering closing produce cars, and the transmission plants in Maryland and Warren won't be needed anymore if they build autonomous cars, which don't need them. But what happens if gas spikes? Do they build cars again?

[Cincinnati_Kid]

You have to figure that they are sitting back in thier chairs looking at legacy and wage costs,something that puts them at a big disadvantage to thier southern counterparts,and thinking,what can we do to reduce this and drive our stock up.

This could all be a ploy,history and emotions has little meaning when it comes to shareholders,never has.

You are correct, shareholders come first. Damn the employees who will lose their jobs.

[sirrealone]

You have to figure that they are sitting back in thier chairs looking at legacy and wage costs,something that puts them at a big disadvantage to thier southern counterparts,and thinking,what can we do to reduce this and drive our stock up.

This could all be a ploy,history and emotions has little meaning when it comes to shareholders,never has.

I remember that part of the bankruptcy and bailout, that legacy costs were brought to near-identical rates as the foreign automakers. Unless that gap has somehow come back into play, I don't see how this is a factor.