GM to cut 2nd shift at plant in Moraine

Cuts at two plants will reduce GM’s production by 117,000 units.

CINCINNATI (AP) — General Motors Corp. will cut the second shift at its Moraine plant in two months, putting 1,000 employees out of work.

The company also said Monday the plant, just south of Dayton, will shut down temporarily in December for nearly the entire month. The second-shift cut on Sept. 29 affects 1,000 of the 2,000-plus employees at the plant, which is expected to close by 2010 or earlier.

The president of the local union said the cut was sooner than expected and that employees thought the second shift would last at least until the end of the year.

“We did expect some kind of adjustments, but never did I expect it would be the end of September,” said Gaylen Turner, president of the International Union of Electronic Workers-Communication Workers of America Local 798.

The move is part of a production cutback by the Detroit-based automaker in response to lower demand for pickup trucks and sport-utility vehicles. GM also eliminated a shift at a plant in Shreveport, La.

The result will be a production drop of 117,000 units, putting the company close to its goal of cutting 300,000 units this year, the company said.

More than half of the affected workers in Moraine are regular salaried or hourly, and 450 are temporary employees who will face layoffs, plant spokeswoman Jessica Peck said. The cut will leave the plant with only one shift; its third shift was eliminated two years ago.

Peck said the cuts stem from a slumping economy and high fuel costs, which have driven increased demand for smaller vehicles.

In June, GM identified the Moraine plant and three other North American pickup truck and SUV plants for closure by 2010. The company has not revealed an expected closure date.

Turner said Monday that the mood at the plant was somber, and he was fielding questions about what attrition packages the company might offer. He said union officials will meet with GM representatives sometime next week, when he hopes to have more answers.

“This is people’s livelihoods,” he said. “For the past two years, it’s been, ‘What do I do if this happens?’”

Richard Stock, an urban studies professor at the University of Dayton, said the biggest regional effect of the shift cut will be the loss of jobs itself, not repercussions through the local economy.

The Dayton area shows signs of economic optimism, including an increase in business and professional services, despite losing thousands of manufacturing jobs in recent years, he said.

“It’s not a nail in the coffin,” he said. “It’s just part of the long-term transition, and the economy is clearly transitioning.”