General Motors to idle Hamtramck, Warren plants, lay off 14,700 workers in North America

GM announces plans for layoffs, plant closures

DETROIT – There are 1,500 employees at the General Motors Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly plant and another 335 at the Warren transmission plant.

On Monday night, their future is in doubt after General Motors officials dropped the biggest restructuring since its bankruptcy.

The Volt hybrid and the LaCrosse will go the way of the dinosaur, along with several other cars, GM officials announced.

"The actions we are taking today continue our transformation to be highly agile, resilient and profitable while giving us the flexibility to invest in the future," CEO Mary Barra said.

"If you look at what GM is really doing, they're taking a bunch of one-shift plants that have been limping along with very low demand and short workweeks and the whole 9 yards," former GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz said.

"GM is all in on a big risk of autonomous electric vehicle future, and one of the things they are doing is shoring up the profit so they can keep investing in that," Autotrader analyst Michelle Krebs said.

"This callous decision by GM to reduce or cease operations in American plants, while opening or increasing production in Mexico and China plants for sales to American consumers, is, in its implementation, profoundly damaging to our American workforce," new UAW GM Vice President Terry Dittes said. "GM's production decisions, in light of employee concessions during the economic downturn and a taxpayer bailout from bankruptcy, puts profits before the working families of this country whose personal sacrifices stood with GM during those dark days."

There are many moving parts to GM's announcement Monday. It's an open challenge to the UAW, as it will start negotiating the national union contract next summer. Getting a deal that might continue the lives of some of these plants will be first on the agenda.

Barra wants to make Wall Street happy, and the near 5 percent uptick in GM stock shows the news has been well-received.


About the Authors:

Rod Meloni is an Emmy Award-winning Business Editor on Local 4 News and a Certified Financial Planner™ Professional.

Derick is the Lead Digital Editor for ClickOnDetroit and has been with Local 4 News since April 2013. Derick specializes in breaking news, crime and local sports.