Layoffs not prelude to Oklahoma City plant shutdown, GM officials say

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) Despite General Motors' decision to lay off hundreds of workers at its Oklahoma City assembly plant, corporate officials say the move is not a prelude to a complete plant shutdown.

Thursday, April 7th 2005, 6:45 am

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) Despite General Motors' decision to lay off hundreds of workers at its Oklahoma City assembly plant, corporate officials say the move is not a prelude to a complete plant shutdown.

``There are no plans for that,'' GM spokeswoman Nancy Sarpolis said. ``I wouldn't read more to it than the market demand is down, and we need to make the proper adjustments.''

The plant boasts strong productivity and efficiency ratings, Sarpolis said, but consumers aren't buying the midsize sport utility vehicles made there.

The plant manufactures seven-seat versions of the Chevrolet Trailblazer, including a new luxury Denali model; the GMC Envoy and the Isuzu Ascender. An Envoy XUV with a sliding roof panel still is being produced here, but light sales prompted the company to eliminate the vehicle from its fleet and no more XUV orders are being taken.

Envoy sales fell 29 percent in the first three months of 2005 when compared with the same period last year. Trailblazer sales plunged 21.9 percent. Those statistics include the extended versions built in Oklahoma City and versions made elsewhere.

The elimination of a shift will affect about 780 hourly workers and about 50 salaried employees, Sarpolis said.

Scores of Oklahoma suppliers who deliver goods or perform services at the plant also will suffer, said Mike Seney of The State Chamber.

``It's an issue that affects the statewide economy, not just Oklahoma City,'' Seney said. ``They literally have hundreds of vendors and suppliers in this state that are small businesses that depend on them.''

Sarpolis said it's impossible to predict how long the plant will operate with a single shift, but increased sales ``would certainly help,'' she said.

``We really don't have any idea. It could be short; it could be long,'' she said. ``If you were following GM, we've had a rough January and February, but then March was very strong. The market's bouncing around right now, and it's real hard to speculate.''

GM idled a second shift at the Oklahoma City plant in 1981 and recalled the workers 18 months later.

The plant was shut down completely for two weeks in January and a week in March because production was outpacing sales, Sarpolis said. It is scheduled to shut down for two weeks in April and two weeks in June. The plant will reopen June 27 with a single shift, and the assembly line will speed up to produce 45 vehicles per hour from its current 32.

The plant also will close for two weeks in July as it does each year to retool for the new model year.