GM to lay off 340 @ Moraine Assembly

[NfamousZ24]

GM to lay off 340 workers at SUV plant

MORAINE, Ohio — General Motors Corp. plans to lay off about 340 of the 2,250 production workers at its assembly plant in this Dayton suburb next year because of expected softening in demand for the midsize sport utility vehicles the plant makes.
Layoffs will start in the first quarter and continue through mid-2008 while cutting production from 58 SUVS to 50 an hour, Jessica Peck, spokeswoman for the GM Moraine plant, said Wednesday.
GM told members of the International Union of Electronic Workers-Communications Workers of America Local 798 at Moraine in October that production cuts were coming, based on GM's market forecasts, Peck said. Union members were informed on Wednesday of the number of layoffs expected, she said.
GM has plans to keep making the GMC Envoy, Chevrolet TrailBlazer, Saab 9-7X and Isuzu Ascender with the two shifts at the plant, company spokesman Tom Wickham said.
GM Moraine currently has about 2,500 employees at the plant, including the 2,250 hourly production employees.
A message seeking comment was left for Local 798.

http://www.daytondailynews.com/searc...ine_Plant.html

[NfamousZ24]

Oh yeah as of right now the senority cut off date tentively is 9-28-98. That is my senority date and as of right now I will be laid off.

That is until the Janitors/Sweepers get put back onto the line. Watch how fast they retire. LOLZ........sad

[paul8488]

Ah that's tough man. Sadly, it doesn't seem that GM is dedicated to doing anything to help these SUVs out... hope you can find something to suit you quickly!

[Perian]

Good job here - in fact your post was so informative that The Detroit News picked it up!

Well done!

I hope everything works out for you.

[steinravnik]

I think there's still a market for a midsize BOF SUV. Nissan still sells a lot of Xterras and Pathfinders, Toyota still has a 4runner, Ford has the Explorer. Some people want a smaller, off-road capable vehicle. I think GM should keep at least one model of the GMT-360 around, but maybe it's not cost effective to update a platform for just one model.

[69Firebird400]

I think there's still a market for a midsize BOF SUV. Nissan still sells a lot of Xterras and Pathfinders, Toyota still has a 4runner, Ford has the Explorer. Some people want a smaller, off-road capable vehicle. I think GM should keep at least one model of the GMT-360 around, but maybe it's not cost effective to update a platform for just one model.

It's a dying market. I owned a Pathfinder until last week, and it just did not offer the space inside of a full size SUV or a large crossover, yet got similar fuel economy (a 2008 Pathfinder V6's fuel economy ratings are identical to a 2008 Suburban's!). I've said this before, but the high cost of fuel has separated the people who actually need SUVs (those who buy full sizers) from the people who don't (who then buy crossovers or minivans).

Also, Explorer sales are in the crapper for the past two years (it's now outsold by the CR-V, and YTD sales are down 23.5%) and the Pathfinder is likely to be replaced by a crossover for its next generation (and sales are down 13.3% YTD). XTerra sales are down 16.0% year to date. 4Runner sales are down 14.8% year to date.

Put it this way, in the Acadia's first year, it is already outselling the Envoy; the Murano in its last year of the current generation is outselling the Pathfinder; the Highlander is outselling the 4Runner.

GM, Ford, Nissan, and Toyota would be foolish to invest much more, if any, money into this dying market segment.

[armycam68]

I just bought an Envoy.............it' a great vehicle. It was at least $6000 less than an Acadia. THAT WILL BUY A LOT OF FUEL! I looked at an Acadia and it reminded me of a Kennworth Crossover........too big! If I would have wanted a Dodge Caravan........I would have bought a Dodge.
GM should have improved the Envoy's mileage and tweaked the looks. They don't sell well because people won't trade up if you are just buying a new paint scheme!
HEAR THIS GM>>>>>>>>>>>>>I will never ever buy a GM vehicle that looks the same after a five year run. HEAR THAT?????????????????????????????????????????????? ??????

[member12]

The Trailblazer needs to be more trendy and off road capable, like the Xterra or H3.

I'm not sure if there is a need for any more models other than a Trailblazer....except maybe a 2 door version with a removable hard top.

They are pretty good trucks, despite what Consumer Reports says. They can get you around fairl well, and tow more than most homeowners would need....and with a locking rear end and four wheel drive, it's far more capable than a Highlander, Murano, or Equinox.

[minnfang]

New Mid-Sized BOF truck platform - somewhat smaller and lighter than current Trailblazer platform.

Chevy Trailblazer, Colorado - funky, youth oriented
GMC Envoy, Canyon - conservative, classy
Hummer H3, H3T - over the top off-road styling

Get them all on a common platform and give them all very distinct styling.
Use updated 4 cyl Altas (trucks only), 3.6L HF V6, and 2.9L Diesel V6

Don't give another market away!

[longtooth]

Oh yeah as of right now the senority cut off date tentively is 9-28-98. That is my senority date and as of right now I will be laid off.

That is until the Janitors/Sweepers get put back onto the line. Watch how fast they retire. LOLZ........sad

Sure, many of us will go. But for you, with relatively low time on your 'clock', the fun is just about to begin. So, hang on...

[pinyon]

New Mid-Sized BOF truck platform - somewhat smaller and lighter than current Trailblazer platform.

Chevy Trailblazer, Colorado - funky, youth oriented
GMC Envoy, Canyon - conservative, classy
Hummer H3, H3T - over the top off-road styling

Get them all on a common platform and give them all very distinct styling.
Use updated 4 cyl Altas (trucks only), 3.6L HF V6, and 2.9L Diesel V6

Don't give another market away!

You nailed it. Just what the General needs in this market IMHO.

[steinravnik]

It's a dying market. I owned a Pathfinder until last week, and it just did not offer the space inside of a full size SUV or a large crossover, yet got similar fuel economy (a 2008 Pathfinder V6's fuel economy ratings are identical to a 2008 Suburban's!). I've said this before, but the high cost of fuel has separated the people who actually need SUVs (those who buy full sizers) from the people who don't (who then buy crossovers or minivans).

Also, Explorer sales are in the crapper for the past two years (it's now outsold by the CR-V, and YTD sales are down 23.5%) and the Pathfinder is likely to be replaced by a crossover for its next generation (and sales are down 13.3% YTD). XTerra sales are down 16.0% year to date. 4Runner sales are down 14.8% year to date.

Put it this way, in the Acadia's first year, it is already outselling the Envoy; the Murano in its last year of the current generation is outselling the Pathfinder; the Highlander is outselling the 4Runner.

GM, Ford, Nissan, and Toyota would be foolish to invest much more, if any, money into this dying market segment.

I have an Xterra, I wanted something I could actually take off road. You're right, if you're buying an SUV to haul a bunch of kids around in, then a Suburban makes more sense. But if you acually do off roading like I do, I don't want to try and drive some big Suburban down a trail, which it probably wouldn't even fit on anyways.

I guess GM has the Hummer H3, which is the closest competetion to the Xterra, Wrangler, FJ Cruiser, etc. Come to think of it, people who bought GMT 360's never took them off road anyways, and they weren't especially capable off road vehicles, so I guess it does make sense to kill them off.

[steinravnik]

HEAR THIS GM>>>>>>>>>>>>>I will never ever buy a GM vehicle that looks the same after a five year run. HEAR THAT?????????????????????????????????????????????? ??????

Then why did you just buy an Envoy?

[tgagneguam]

New Mid-Sized BOF truck platform - somewhat smaller and lighter than current Trailblazer platform.

Chevy Trailblazer, Colorado - funky, youth oriented
GMC Envoy, Canyon - conservative, classy
Hummer H3, H3T - over the top off-road styling...

Don't give another market away!

I agree overall, though I may not agree specifically with the breadth of your mid-sized BOF lineup, minnfang. The market is hundreds of thousands of units large; it still exists, and GM should offer a competent entry, though admittedly it may only need one or two iterations.

NfamousZ24, despite the tough rhetoric on this site with respect to UAW workers, I still do wish you well; I hope you land softly if you get laid off.

[sprchev1]

As an owner of a 2004 TB that I like very much I will be disappointed if they axe it in a couple of years. I plan on buying another used one in a couple of years because I like this one so much. It gets decent mileage with good power. It is not made for offroading so anyone that buys one should not have illusions you will be slogging thru deep mud or busting trail in the mountains with it. The front axle goes thru the oil pan so there is no lift kits available that I'm aware of. I have had mine on the Silver Lake Sand Dunes and it made it up every hill there without too much problem but it just doesn't have enough ground clearence to be a true offroader. Still a good SUV IMO.