GM to idle most plants for about a month

15 December 2008

The General Motors Corporation has announced on Friday that it plans to idle all of its assembly plants in the United States and Canada, for a part of the first quarter, and would build 250,000 fewer cars and trucks than it had originally planned.

Marking one of its largest widest shutdowns, GM plans to close plants for about a month, across various times over the first quarter. It also plans to extend the annual Christmas holiday through January at some plants.

The car company will now build around 60 per cent fewer vehicles in the first quarter, compared to the 885,000 it made during the same period of 2008.

"Every plant in North America has some type of action related to it," GM spokesman Tony Sapienza was quoted as saying, terming it as an "utter collapse" of the market that was not specific to GM or to US automakers. "People just aren't buying cars right now" he said.

But GM has suffered the most after Chrysler. GM has said it might run out of funds if not bailed out by a $10 billion federal package that it is seeking from the government this month (See:  Bush may open bailout kitty for automakers). The car maker's sales were down 43 per cent in October and November, against a 34 per cent industry-wide decline over all.

A message on the website of United Automobile Workers (UAW) union Local 276 in Arlington, Texas, advised members that they would be off work starting 23 December, for almost a month till 20 January. It also said that the same would happen for a week during March. The Arlington workers typically build sports utility vehicles.