General Motors announced a range of strategic initiatives to respond to growing demand for fuel-efficient vehicles — including the closure of four truck plants.
GM will react to the shift in the United States market by increasing production of small and mid-size cars and reducing production of pickups and truck-based SUVs.
Oshawa Truck Assembly in Canada, which builds the Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra, will likely cease production in 2009, while Moraine OH, which builds the Chevy TrailBlazer, GMC Envoy, and Saab 9-7x, will end production at the end of the 2010 model run, or sooner if demand dictates.
Janesville WI will cease production of medium-duty trucks by the end of 2009, and of the Tahoe, Suburban, and Yukon in 2010, or sooner if market demand dictates. Chevrolet Kodiak medium-duty truck production will also end in Toluca, Mexico, by the end of 2008.
GM expects that these actions, along with the recent announcement to remove shifts at two other U.S. truck plants (Pontiac and Flint MI), will result in an additional GM North America structural cost savings of more than $1 billion, on a running rate basis, by 2010. This is on top of the approximately $5 billion running rate reduction by 2011 that was announced earlier this year, and in addition to the $9 billion reduction accomplished over the 2006-07 period in North America.
The company is undertaking a strategic review of the Hummer brand to determine its fit within the GM portfolio. At this point, the company is considering all options, from a complete revamp of the product lineup to a partial or complete sale of the brand.