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GM plans shutdown for six weeks
General Motor plant in Spotsylvania closes for six weeks this summer
Date published: 5/8/2009
By KELLY HANNON General Motors will temporarily close its GM Powertrain plant in Spotsylvania County from June 1 to July 12. A national slowdown in the production of GM cars and trucks has trickled down to the Spotsylvania plant, which produces torque converter clutches for automatic transmissions. Most GM plants in North America will be temporarily closed at some point this year, said John Raut, a GM spokesman in Baltimore. In April, GM announced that it will produce 190,000 fewer vehicles this year than anticipated. Assembly plant closings were announced at the time, with information on transmission and Powertrain facilities to follow. "We ship the torque converter clutch plates to transmission plants, who in turn ship to assembly plants," Raut said. "There's just no need in the pipeline, because those facilities will be down as well." The GM Powertrain plant in Spotsylvania is closed for two weeks every July for employee vacation. This will extend the closing another four weeks. The closing will affect 64 hourly employees and 14 salaried workers. Hourly workers will be eligible for state unemployment assistance during the plant closing, Raut said. Through an agreement between GM and the United Auto Workers, GM will pay hourly workers most of the difference between the unemployment assistance and their normal salaries. Salaried workers will receive a percentage of their pay. GM has not disclosed the percentage. The Spotsylvania plant is the only GM facility in Virginia. The plant opened in 1979, and GM recently invested $3.1 million in the facility so workers could create single-plate and dual-plate 6-speed clutches. Employees return to work on Monday, July 13. Also yesterday, General Motors announced it lost $6 billion in the the first quarter of 2009. The previous year, GM lost $3.3 billion in the first quarter. Kelly Hannon: 540/374-5436
Date published: 5/8/2009
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