By CRM Staff
Toronto, Ontario — February 26, 2019 —General Motors in Detroit will live to see another year.
The plant, which is on the border of Detroit-Hamtramck, was originally notified by the manufacturer that it would be shutting down effective June 2019. According to GM the location will remain open into January of 2020 to produce a high-performance version of the Cadillac CT6 and vehicles, such as the Chevrolet Impala, with its “Super Cruise” advanced driver assist system.
Last November GM announced its plan to close factories in Lordstown, Ohio; Oshawa, Ontario; Warren, Michigan; and White Marsh, Maryland in 2019. The manufacturer explained that it has 2,700 available jobs for factory workers at other plants in the U.S.
In order for GM to close the plants, they must first negotiate with the United Auto Workers Union. The automaker explained that it has too much capacity to build cars when the market has drastically shifted to SUV’s and trucks.
Union representatives welcomed the new Detroit plant extension and promised that they would continue to fight the other closures.
“Let me reiterate that the UAW will leave no stone unturned in seeking to keep your plants open, and we hope today’s news brings a measure of hope as we continue that important work,” president Gary Jones said in a statement Friday.
Dan Flores, a GM spokesperson, said that approximately 700 hourly workers remain from the 1,348 that were employed at the Detroit plant last November. A majority of the workers were laid off or moved to other factories, with a majority going to a pickup truck plant in Flint, Michigan.
