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890 more layoffs at Lordstown; third shift eliminated
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AP and Staff Reports
General Motors is eliminating the recently created midnight shift at its Lordstown complex by laying off 890 additional workers.
This comes on top of the 1,060 layoffs announced last month. Those layoffs were to be made Jan. 20 when the company was to slow down the speed of the assembly line where Chevrolet Cobalts and Pontiac G5s are made.
Today, however, GM said demand for the cars has been so slow that it is closing the assembly and fabricating plants for all of January, in addition to eliminating the midnight shift. Production will restart Feb. 2 after the Christmas break.
The complex will have about 2,300 hourly workers on two shifts after the cuts. The line speed will be cut back from 62 cars an hour to 46 vehicles an hour.
Overall, GM announced today about 2,000 more factory workers at three car factories: Lordstown; Orion Township, Mich.; and Oshawa, Ontario.
A GM spokesman said 390 jobs will be eliminated on Feb. 2 at Orion Township and another 700 workers will be laid off in Oshawa on Feb. 9.
The Orion plant makes the Chevrolet Malibu and Pontiac G6 sedans and Oshawa makes the Chevrolet Impala.
For more information, see Saturday’s Vindicator or Vindy.com.