[EJD1984]

GM drops shift at Michigan Cadillac plant to match car supply, demand
Automotive News
By Mike Colias
November 11, 2014

DETROIT -- General Motors is eliminating one production shift at the Michigan plant where the Cadillac ATS and CTS are made, a reflection of new brand chief Johan de Nysschen's vow to fix excess production and high inventories that have plagued Cadillac over the past year.

GM will cut production to one shift, from two, at its Lansing Grand River plant, spokesman Bill Grotz confirmed Tuesday. He said about 350 workers will be laid off beginning in January. GM will seek to move some of those people to one of the company's two other plants nearby, he said.

The line speed will be accelerated to produce more vehicles on that remaining shift than usual, Grotz said.

GM expects to resume a second shift at the start of production for the next-generation Camaro, which is being moved to Lansing from Canada.

U.S. sales of the ATS were down 19 percent through October. The compact sedan has faced fresh competition this year from lower-priced German entries, such as the Audi A3 and Mercedes CLA.

CTS sales in the U.S. have fallen 2 percent, despite glowing media reviews that generally put the car on a par with rivals such as the Mercedes E class and BMW 5 series.

Grotz said GM remains "committed to a strong and lasting presence in Lansing," citing about $280 million in recent investments in plants there.

*Full Article at Link

 

[jpd80]

Currently, there's about four months inventory of each, GM needs to dry up some inventory
but rebalance the mix so that they follow the actual market.

 

[osbornk]

"The line speed will be accelerated to produce more vehicles on that remaining shift than usual, Grotz said."

Sounds like the perfect way to improve quality and raise worker's morale.

 

[Ed753]

I'm sure this is exactly how GM planned it......... NOT

Cadillac still making money?

And while we are at it, let's speed up the line, because we all know the quality is just a little too good........


Sent from AutoGuide.com Free App

 

[cone-A]

Put some Diesels in these cars and ship them to Europe. Propably they can switch to three shifts then.

 

[GolfBravo]

Capitalism:
You have two cows.
You sell one and buy a bull.
Your herd multiplies, and the economy grows.
You sell them and retire on the income.


An Australian company (eg. Holden):
You have two cows.
Business seems pretty good.
You close the office and go for a few beers to celebrate.

Well, that's what it used to be like anyway.


A German Company:
You have two cows.
You re-engineer them so they live for 100 years, eat once a month, and milk themselves.


General Motors:
You have two cows.
You sell three of them to your publicly listed company, using letters of credit opened by your brother-in-law at the bank, then execute a debt/equity swap with an associated general offer so that you get all four cows back, with a tax exemption for five cows.
The milk rights of the six cows are transferred via an intermediary to a Cayman Island Company secretly owned by the majority shareholder who sells the rights to all seven cows back to your listed company.
The annual report says the company owns eight cows, with an option on one more.
You sell one cow to buy a new president of the United States, leaving you with nine cows.
No balance sheet provided with the release.
The cows are then milked 4 times a day, and half the milkmaids get laid off to improve productivity and balance sheet.
The public then buys your bull.
Things are pretty good!

 

[GolfBravo]

Put some Diesels in these cars and ship them to Europe. Propably they can switch to three shifts then.

Sorry, too much effort. No can do.

 

[sepi]

It is time to declare that the era of Arts and Scientology - so renamed to match the near cult adoration slathered on a design philosophy that features random dents, creases, and cramped interiors - to be dead - dead - dead.

We have been sold a load of rubbish about how Cadihack has recovered - despite adding cross dressed GMC trucks as its own, Cadihack has not reached the level it did in 1990 - not exactly a high water mark in the brand's success.

It is time to abandon this foolishness of creating a plethora of mediocre products stuck on 1960's rear wheel drive - these vehicles have to disappear in order for the maker to hit the 50 mpg plus fuel standards imposed by the renegade King Pimple of a man the first in Washington.

It is time to abandon the thick-bodied look that results in interior comfort that rivals looking through a door mail slot. It is time to build interiors of high quality materials and design. It is time to build them so that four door cars can carry four adults with legs in comfort.

Design something that is svelte and fluid - something that is both simple and well executed in precision of materials and design.

Until then Cadihack is dead. This is but the first symptom of a brand that has used all of its own hype oxygen and has nothing left to offer.

 

[jwvrod]

About time...

 

[Glass Half full]

Cadillac still making money?

Cadillac is absolutely making money. The SRX, XTS, and Escalade command between $15K and $30K more than cars they based on. The ATS/CTS will be more profitable with improved economies of scale once the 'alpha Camaro' debuts and starts selling 120,000 units a year. A 4cyl ATS is currently more expensive than a 2012 V6 CTS. Sales will obviously suffer in the short term. Cadillac sales are down for the year but ATPs are at an all time high. GM has Buick for premium sales volume. They can afford to let Cadillac go upmarket at the cost of a few sales. I am still mad at GM for letting the SRX rot. There should have been 2 other crossovers (one Gamma based and one Lambda based) in addition to a 5 seat SUV (based on Colorado) by now. Cadillac will fix this.

This one chart explains everything.

Its also about time they experiment with a non art and science design for ONE model. It is obviously too polarizing if sales are any indication. The Delta or Epsilon SWB based cheaper Cadillac could borrow euro designs to go in line with Audi/BMW/Benz.

 

[Glass Half full]

Put some Diesels in these cars and ship them to Europe. Propably they can switch to three shifts then.

The A&S design won't work in Europe. Better to let Opel design the exterior and build RWD Opels at Lansing. They can use the 2.0L diesel from the Cruze. This could be like the Hyundai Genesis in Europe. Opel has a better chance selling premium cars competing against BMW/Audi in Europe.

 

[Ruperts Trooper]

So they've switched from two shifts to one but speeded the line up - will build quality suffer ?

 

[Ruperts Trooper]

The A&S design won't work in Europe. Better to let Opel design the exterior and build RWD Opels at Lansing. They can use the 2.0L diesel from the Cruze. This could be like the Hyundai Genesis in Europe. Opel has a better chance selling premium cars competing against BMW/Audi in Europe.

The GM 2.0 turbo-diesel is middle-of-the-road in the European budget/mainstream sectors - bottom of the heap if they go into premium.

Hyundai has a better chance of selling against Audi/BMW/Mercedes-Benz than Opel/Vauxhall - certainly they have better residuals.

 

[dslay04]

GM has enough profit centers to develop Cadillac properly. It's not going to be overnight. That plant really could use an Alpha CUV.

 

[jetstar63]

Capitalism:
You have two cows.
You sell one and buy a bull.
Your herd multiplies, and the economy grows.
You sell them and retire on the income.


An Australian company (eg. Holden):
You have two cows.
Business seems pretty good.
You close the office and go for a few beers to celebrate.

Well, that's what it used to be like anyway.


A German Company:
You have two cows.
You re-engineer them so they live for 100 years, eat once a month, and milk themselves.


General Motors:
You have two cows.
You sell three of them to your publicly listed company, using letters of credit opened by your brother-in-law at the bank, then execute a debt/equity swap with an associated general offer so that you get all four cows back, with a tax exemption for five cows.
The milk rights of the six cows are transferred via an intermediary to a Cayman Island Company secretly owned by the majority shareholder who sells the rights to all seven cows back to your listed company.
The annual report says the company owns eight cows, with an option on one more.
You sell one cow to buy a new president of the United States, leaving you with nine cows.
No balance sheet provided with the release.
The public then buys your bull.
Things are pretty good!

Clever, but not what Cadillac is doing at all.

 

[Envoy4Life]

This is the stupidest decision I've ever seen.

dx'ing a shift is a good idea. Sales are lagging. Cutting a shift compensates for that. I get that decision. But speeding up the line during the other shift? WTF? Already sub-par quality is only going to get worse with that. This makes zero sense.

 

[megeebee]

I find it very interesting in threads like this.

So many say Cadillacs should be brash, American, in-your-face.

Then others say Cadillacs are TOO brash,American, in-your-face.

 

[free_energy0]

The ATS is now made in China.

 

[Ed753]

Cadillac is absolutely making money. The SRX, XTS, and Escalade command between $15K and $30K more than cars they based on. The ATS/CTS will be more profitable with improved economies of scale once the 'alpha Camaro' debuts and starts selling 120,000 units a year. A 4cyl ATS is currently more expensive than a 2012 V6 CTS. Sales will obviously suffer in the short term. Cadillac sales are down for the year but ATPs are at an all time high. GM has Buick for premium sales volume. They can afford to let Cadillac go upmarket at the cost of a few sales. I am still mad at GM for letting the SRX rot. There should have been 2 other crossovers (one Gamma based and one Lambda based) in addition to a 5 seat SUV (based on Colorado) by now. Cadillac will fix this.

This one chart explains everything.

The SRX, XTS and Escalade, but aren't most of those the cars Cadillac shouldn't (and isn't going to) have in the future?

You act is if the new CTS cost the same to build (content/technology/R&D) that the old one did, sure ATP's are up, but selling fewer at a modestly larger gross profit, doesn't amortize well.

You chart only explains/show one thing; ATP, add in unit volume, plant efficiency, vehicle (production) cost, R&D and it isn't so pretty............... (just looked up plant utilizatin, in CY 2011 Lansing GR was over 85%, for 2014 (YTD) its under 50%, and going significantly lower)

Fixed cost don't go away; when you drop a shift or sell fewer cars............ be it keeping the lights on at a plant or a TV advertisement.

Now if once the Camaro moves to Lansing, GM cuts the ATS/CTS price, the volume will picks up and eventhough unit gross will be down, profit/margin should go up, but don't bet on a price reduction....

 

[sfbreh]

People need to stop ****ting themselves over this.

What happened to "it'll never happen" etc?

Little refresher for those experiencing a little memory loss: http://www.gminsidenews.com/forums/f15/gm-offering-up-7500-cash-2014-cadillac-cts-185265/