GM to Lay Off 1, 600 Workers at 3 Factories

About 700 workers at GM's pickup truck plant in Pontiac will be furloughed starting Feb. 1, while another 500 at the Detroit-Hamtramck sedan factory will be laid off starting Jan. 12, spokesman Chris Lee said Thursday. In addition, 400 workers at a two-seat sports car assembly plant in Wilmington, Del., also will be out of work starting Dec. 8.

Workers were notified of the company's actions Sept. 29, Lee said.

The Detroit-Hamtramck plant, which makes the Buick Lucerne and Cadillac DTS full-size sedans, already is down to a single daily shift. GM will reduce its assembly line speed from 56 to 38 cars per hour to achieve the layoffs, Lee said.

The Pontiac plant, which makes the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickups, also is operating on one shift and will see its line speed go from 55 trucks to 24 trucks per hour.

In Wilmington, the plant that makes the Pontiac Solstice, Saturn Sky and Opel GT roadsters will go from two shifts per day to one, Lee said.

''We don't need excess inventory out there,'' Lee said. ''We adjust up and down to the market. Pickup trucks, as you know, have been impacted, and in this case our large luxuries have been impacted and the small two-seater niche products as well.''

Lee said the company plans no further plant announcements at this time.

Inventory for the most of the vehicles produced at the plants was near a normal level at the end of September, according to Ward's AutoInfoBank. GM had a 50- to 85-day supply of all but the Soltice, which was at 155 days.

Diane Elnick, an industry analyst for Ward's, said GM may be downsizing in anticipation of a continued sales slump.