GM moves Malibu fender production to Michigan
Automaker says the move not a response to Kansas strike
David Barkholz
and Robert Sherefkin
Automotive News
May 5, 2008 - 2:00 pm ET
UPDATED: 5/5/08 4:29 p.m. EDT
DETROIT -- General Motors has taken steps to help ramp up production of the coveted Chevrolet Malibu sedan as the UAW strikes the vehicle's primary assembly plant in Kansas City, Kan.
By the end of this week GM will be able to produce Malibu fenders at its stamping plant in Lansing, Mich., a Detroit-area UAW official said today. The fenders have been produced at the Fairfax assembly plant in Kansas.
That production shift will allow GM to continue building Malibu sedans at its secondary source for the cars, the Orion Township (Mich.) assembly plant, said Mike Dunn, chairman of UAW Local 5960 in Orion.
GM spokesman Chris Lee said today the move has been in the works for several weeks and wasn't planned as a response to strike threats at the Fairfax plant. GM made duplicate production dies for the fenders in Fairfax and shipped them to Lansing six weeks ago.
Orion builds an average of 388 Malibus a day compared with 574 at Fairfax, according to the Automotive News Data Center. Orion also makes the Pontiac G6 car.
It's unclear so far if GM will ramp up additional Malibu production in Michigan because the G6 also has had strong sales, Dunn said.
The Malibu has been one of GM's few bright spots in 2008. The cars are jumping off dealership lots. The carmaker has only a 35-day supply on hand. That compares with pickups with days supply of more than 100.
Through April, GM has sold 59,133 Malibus in the U.S., up 22.5 percent from the same period a year ago. GM also has sold 57,143 G6s, up 22.2 percent from the same period a year ago.
The 2,600 UAW workers at Fairfax, represented by UAW Local 31, struck GM this morning for failure to get a local operating contract. Seniority rights and job security were the sticking points. The plant also makes the Saturn Aura car.
Dunn said GM has enough of the fenders in stock to continue Malibu production in Orion through the end of the week. By then, GM will be able to make the fenders in Lansing.
The Lansing stamping plant is one of only about a dozen GM plants with local UAW contracts. Another 60 plants are without agreements.
The stamping plant provides stampings for GM's Lansing Grand River Avenue Cadillac plant and the Delta Township assembly plant near Lansing, which also is on strike over a local contract. Delta Township makes the popular Buick Enclave, GMC Acadia and Saturn Outlook crossovers. Workers there have been on strike for almost three weeks.
