Detroit Free Press
By Katie Merx and Jewel Gopwani
May 13, 2008
General Motors Corp. on Monday restored production at five plants that had been affected by an 11-week UAW strike against supplier American Axle & Manufacturing Inc.
GM also announced plans to cease operations at its Windsor Transmission plant in two years, a move that could stall negotiations with the Canadian Auto Workers.
The UAW negotiations with American Axle have progressed in fits and starts, and the two sides are to meet again today.
GM reports that the strike cost it 230,000 units of production through April. While most of that lost production was in pickups and large SUVs for which GM has subsequently announced more production cuts because of slow U.S. sales, some of the parts shortage affected car assembly.
On Monday, GM spokesman Dan Flores said, GM resumed:
The third shift of production at the Oshawa, Ontario, car plant, which makes the Chevrolet Impala and Buick Lacrosse.
The second shift of production at the Oshawa truck plant, which produces the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra.
Full production in Ramos Arizpe, Mexico, which manufactures the HHR wagon.
The first shift at Wentzville Stamping and Wentzville Assembly in Missouri, where Chevrolet Express and GMC Savana vans are manufactured.
In addition, Flores said, the company has announced tentative plans to resume the second shift at Wentzville Assembly as early as next week.
GM didn't say how it has been able to acquire enough parts to resume production at the plants.
UAW locals that represent workers at the Kansas City, Kan., assembly plant that makes the Malibu and Saturn Aura and at the Lansing Delta Township assembly plant that makes the Buick Enclave, GMC Acadia and Saturn Outlook crossovers are striking GM over an inability to resolve local contract negotiations.
Analysts have said those strikes could be particularly damaging to GM because the Malibu and crossovers have been its fastest-selling new vehicles lately and are in some of the few U.S. vehicle segments that continue to grow despite the U.S. mortgage crisis and rising fuel prices.
"If GM is to stabilize its market share ... then they need everything they have," said Tom Libby, senior director of industry analysis at J.D. Power and Associates.
Production of the Impala has gained significance in GM's lineup, analysts said, because as the strike cuts into the supply of Malibus, dealers will likely offer the Impala as an alternative.
"If they are going to be short of the Malibu, then the Impala becomes even more important," Libby said.
GM attempted to hasten resolution of the strike between the UAW and American Axle last week by offering $200 million to American Axle for buyouts, buydowns and retirement offers in a settlement.
American Axle wants to cut hourly workers' wages in exchange for incentives for workers who leave and payments for those who remain at a lower wage.
Talks continued between the UAW and American Axle on Monday. American Axle spokeswoman Renee Rogers said the sides made progress on Sunday.
UAW President Ron Gettelfinger, speaking on WJR-AM (760) Monday morning, said that over the weekend, the two sides "resolved some of the smaller issues."
Still, Gettelfinger said difficult issues remain.
On Saturday, he told WWJ-AM (950) that the company had blindsided the union by proposing to close a plant in Cheektowaga, N.Y., near Buffalo. For the most part, the two sides agreed to closing forging plants in nearby Tonawanda, N.Y., and in Detroit.
On Monday, he said the question of closing Cheektowaga can be resolved.
"There's got to be a lot of justification before they can do that," Gettelfinger said. "We don't believe that the justification is there."
Gettelfinger praised the 3,650 workers on strike at American Axle. The strike enters its 12th week today.
Meanwhile, CAW President Buzz Hargrove said in a conference call Monday that the Canadian union may postpone until September contract talks it began last week with GM following the automaker's announcement Monday of plans to cease operations at Windsor Transmission in the second quarter of 2010.
"The company has determined that its North American market outlook and product plans, including the shift from four-speed to more fuel-efficient six-speed transmissions, do not offer replacement products for the Windsor plant in the 2010 time frame," GM said in a statement.
Hargrove said union negotiators spent the weekend unsuccessfully trying to negotiate fair buyout and retirement packages for the workers who will be laid off in the plan. GM employs about 1,400 hourly and salaried workers at the plant.
