GM Strikes Future Production Low

With recent news that General Motors plans to cut 2,000 jobs across three North American plants, it seems their latest numbers regarding future production will also be drastically slashed for the first quarter of 2009. Projected estimates say the number will be in the realm of 425,000 vehicles, fewer than half the total built in the first quarter of this year.

In November alone U.S. sales have dropped 41 per cent for the automaker. GM cited the lack of consumer credit and the market’s rapid slide for the production cutbacks. The news comes just days after the Senate voted against the $14 billion bailout package in Washington. As a result, many car manufacturers are restructuring their operations in an effort to soften the blow. GM has already scheduled temporary shutdowns at twenty plants in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico.

The company said it will cut shifts at car factories in Lordstown, Ohio; Orion Township, Mich.; and Oshawa, Ontario, starting in February due to slowing demand for their products. Another 700 workers will go on indefinite layoffs February 9th in Oshawa, Ontario, where GM makes the Chevrolet Impala large sedan.