General Motors Corp. announced on July 288 another round of production cuts affecting its gasoline-guzzling truck and sport utility vehicle (SUV) production lines. The custs will result in a drop of production of 117,000 units between now and the end of the year.
They will fall heavily on GM's giant Hummer brand which has suffered falling sales as gasoline prices have jumped higher this year. Prodcution at the main Hummer plant will be cut by one third and bring the total number of cuts to more than 287,000 units. "The cuts are a continuation of earlier announcements," said GM spokesman Tony Sapienza. "It's incremental to the 170,000 units that we announced last month."
GM said its plants at Moraine, Ohio and Shreveport, La., would be affected by the cuts.
In addition, GM is also taking steps to reduce truck production at plants in Fort Wayne, Ind., at a Canadian plant in Oshawa, Ontario, and Silao, Mexico.
GM also will shut down production for several weeks this autumn at its truck plants in Flint and Pontiac, Mich., Sapienza said.
GM has also reached an agreement with Canadian auto workers that could defuse a dispute ignited by the automaker's plans to close its Oshawa truck plant as part of a reduction in its truck production. The agreement was reached after GM agreed to add some new shifts at the Canadian plant, union officials said.
Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2008
