MICHIGAN
Although General Motors Corp. officials announced Tuesday the upcoming closure of its Lansing Car Assembly plant, city officials and union members say the negative impact will be short-lived.
The plant, which produces the Pontiac Grand Am and the Chevrolet Malibu Classic, is set to close in May - about half a year earlier than was expected.
A new plant in Delta Township will open sometime late this year or early next year, and Lansing Car Assembly employees are likely to fill positions there, said Glenn Kirk, Lansing's director of finance.
"We were hoping to be able to phase out the closing of the Lansing Car Assembly operation and dovetail that into the opening and start of production for the Lansing Delta Township plant," he said.
GM spokesman Stefan Weinmann said the company made the decision in response to the company's sales, which have dropped more than 12 percent from last year's numbers.
"We had to make a business decision based on our current situation, the current order intake and market performance," Weinmann said.
The plant employees are represented by United Auto Workers Local 602 and UAW Local 652.
"Every single (employee) is covered by the GM UAW agreement; they provide a very comprehensive safety net," Weinmann said.
UAW Local 602 will represent the Delta Township plant, so many members are expected to move there from the Lansing plant, he said.
The UAW Local 652 covers employees at three other facilities in Delta Township and Lansing, where workers likely will move.
All Local 652 members at the Lansing Car Assembly plant should be able to find new jobs at area plants and facilities, said Michael Belsito, chief financial officer for the UAW chapter.
"We have a very good chance anybody who is employed today will be employed in 2006 with the new and coming work we believe will be in the Lansing area," Belsito said.
In the meantime, employees will receive unemployment and supplemental unemployment benefits for as many as 48 weeks, Belsito said.
