GM to Idle Several Plants

Scrap recyclers in several regions will be losing industrial generation volume as a result of plant closures that have been announced by General Motors Co., Detroit.

GM CEO Rick Wagoner has announced the closure of eight assembly, stamping and powertrain plants as well as cutbacks at three additional GM facilities.

The four assembly plants being phased out over the next three years are located in Doraville, Ga.; Lansing, Mich.; Oklahoma City, Okla.; and Oshawa, Ontario, Canada.

The four stamping and power train plants that will also be idled over the next three years are located in Flint, Mich.; Lansing, Mich.; Pittsburgh, Pa.; and St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada.

Plant capacity slowdowns will also take place in Moraine, Ohio; at a separate facility in Oshawa, Ontario; and at a Saturn plant in Spring Hill, Tenn.

“The decisions we are announcing today were very difficult to reach because of their impact on our employees and the communities where we live and work,” says Wagoner. “But these actions are necessary for GM to get its costs in line with our major global competitors. In short, they are an essential part of our plan to return our North American operations to profitability as soon as possible.”

Other facilities being targeted for closure or scaled back operations include parts distribution centers in Portland, Ore., St. Louis, Mo., and Ypsilanti, Mich. Also, packaging operations in Flint, Pontiac, Drayton Plains, and Ypsilanti, Mich., “will be evaluated in accordance with the provisions of the GM-UAW national agreement,” according to a GM news release.