Delta plant workers question GM move
Dropping third shift doesn't make sense amid OT, some say
Barbara Wieland
Lansing State Journal
A day after General Motors Corp. said it would drop a third shift at the Lansing Delta Township assembly plant, workers there are dubious of the automaker's explanation for resulting layoffs.
GM said Monday it would do away with the third shift at the plant after Thanksgiving. The change is expected to idle as many as 1,000 workers - including temporary hires.
The automaker said it needs to cut the shift to bring production in line with demand. But many workers who spoke Tuesday said they don't believe their employer.
They say there has been Saturday overtime work for all three shifts the previous two weeks. Another Saturday shift is called for this weekend.
If GM can't meet demand for the GMC Acadia, Buick Enclave and Saturn Outlook by working around the clock six days a week, those workers say, they don't know how the job will get done with two shifts.
"It seems rather strange. They're letting us go because they don't need (the vehicles) yet we're working overtime because we can't make enough," said Gene Alexander, 45, a temporary worker at the plant who expects to be laid off.
But GM spokesman Tom Wickham reiterated Tuesday that GM did not plan for the third shift to be permanent.
"We were explicit from the very beginning that this was a temporary matter," he said. "We are fulfilling what we said from the outset, before the (recent UAW-GM) contract was negotiated or ratified."
But some workers think GM is trying to work around the contract agreement by eliminating the shift.
Feeling let down
The contract, ratified Oct. 10, called for GM to make 3,000 temporary workers permanent employees.
"GM let our plant down," said Todd Trout, a GM line worker at Lansing Delta Township. "They promised to hire all our temps. The week after the contract was ratified, they lay them off."
He contends GM lured people into voting for the labor contract by offering a signing bonus.
"(GM) used the $3,000 (contract) signing bonus to get people to vote yes," Trout said. "The temps voted 'yes' for that. Then they lay them off."
Dan Childs, a 48-year-old worker at the Delta Township plant, agreed. With 27 years at the automaker under his belt, Childs said he doesn't think he'll be laid off. But he's upset that others will.
"We've been bamboozled," Childs said.
At least one auto analyst was surprised by the shift cut.
Erich Merkle, lead forecaster for automotive research firm IRN Inc. in Grand Rapids, said GM has trouble making enough Acadias, Enclaves and Outlooks.
"They're having problems getting enough of those out there," he said. "This baffles me a bit, too."
Merkle said two shifts at the plant could produce about 200,000 vehicles a year.
The plant made 95,132 vehicles through the end of September, but much of the year was spent ramping up to full production and bringing the Enclave online.
It went into production in April.
Auto suppliers face cuts
The elimination of the cuts will be felt outside the factory walls.
Workers at auto suppliers near the plant also face job cuts, said Chris "Tiny" Sherwood, president of United Auto Workers Local 652, which represents 1,500 hourly workers at Ryder Logistics, Android Industries and Plastech in Delta Township.
He didn't know how many jobs might be lost because of the move at the assembly plant.
Contact Barbara Wieland at 267-1348 or bwieland@lsj.com.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
DELTA TWP. - General Motors Corp. might be cutting up to 1,000 jobs from its plant in November, but it might need to recall those workers by the middle of next year.
That's because a new vehicle reportedly will go into production at the plant, said automotive forecaster Erich Merkle of IRN Inc. in Grand Rapids.
Merkle, who tracks production plans of automakers, said GM will start production of the Chevrolet Traverse crossover next summer.
Most of the vehicles will be made at a GM factory in Spring Hill, Tenn.. But it isn't expected to be able to make enough of them and Delta Township will be tapped for that job, Merkle said.
"Chevrolet is forecasting making 150,000 of those a year, more than they can handle at Spring Hill," Merkle said.
GM spokeswoman Heidi Magyar said GM hasn't yet made any announcements about the vehicle. The United Auto Workers said in its initial contract summary earlier this month a Chevrolet crossover would be added at the plant for the 2011 model year.
"GM has not talked about that yet," she said.
Contact Barbara Wieland at 267-1348 or bwieland@lsj.com.
