Work moves to save GM $1.5M

By Don Shilling

Ten production steps have been identified to save the company money.

LORDSTOWN — The car plant will save $1.5 million in annual operating costs by moving some work into the plant that had been done by suppliers.

The moves come as General Motors is fighting for survival because its cash reserves are nearing the point where it will not be able to run its daily operations.

The movement of production was highlighted recently in an employee newsletter, but Chris Lee, a GM spokesman, said it is one of many money-saving steps the company is taking in energy use and manufacturing procedures.

As far as moving work back inside the plant, Lee said 10 cost-saving measures have been identified and either have been enacted or will be shortly. Some of them involve moving assembly work that had been done by suppliers, while others include the arranging of parts for the assembly line, which is known as sequencing.

For example, some parts of the instrument panel on the cars now will be installed by plant workers, not suppliers. One of these parts is the button that is pushed to activate the hazard flashers.

The sequencing work for an electronic control module also has been moved inside the plant. Previously, the module was among the parts that a supplier had arranged and then shipped to the plant just in time to be installed into the cars.

Now, plant workers will separate the three different types of modules that are used for the cars and arrange them in the proper order for assembly.

In such cases, it was determined that it would be cheaper for the work to be done by plant workers, rather than suppliers, Lee said. Plant management will continue to look for ways to cut costs and that could mean more work being brought inside the plant later, he said.

The moves will not result in any changes to staffing at the plant.

GM announced recently that it was laying off 1,060 hourly workers and eliminating 40 salaried jobs at the assembly and adjacent fabricating plants because of slowing car sales. Lordstown produces the Chevrolet Cobalt and Pontiac G5 and has about 4,200 hourly workers.

GM and the other domestic automakers, who are dealing with reduced demand for their vehicles, are asking for loans from Congress because they can’t get money from private credit markets. GM has said that by early next year it will not have adequate cash reserves to fund its daily operations.

shilling@vindy.com