GM idling Spring Hill plant, unclear for how long

Associated Press • June 1, 2009 SPRING HILL, Tenn. -- A union spokesman at the General Motors plant in Spring Hill says the 2,500 employees there have been told the plant will be idled. Longtime United Auto Workers Union worker and local 1853 newspaper editor Todd Horton said Monday morning resumption of production would depend on market conditions. Horton said employees don't know for how long production will be shut down, but work is scheduled to end beginning in the fourth quarter of the year. He said assembly of the Chevrolet Traverse is being moved to a plant in Lansing, Mich. Employees of the Spring Hill plant were told Monday morning after reporting to work. General Motors filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Monday in New York. A person familiar with General Motors' plans says the automaker will permanently close nine more plants and idle three others to trim production and labor costs under bankruptcy protection. Assembly plants in Pontiac, Mich., and Wilmington, Del., will close this year, while plants in Spring Hill, Tenn., and Orion, Mich., will shut down production but remain on standby. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the plans have not been made public. Powertrain plants in Livonia, Flint and Ypsilanti Township, Mich. will close next year, along with plants in Parma, Ohio, and Fredericksburg, Va. Stamping plants in Indianapolis and Mansfield, Ohio, also will close. A stamping plant in Pontiac, Mich., will remain on standby.