- Janesville Assembly
Janesville Assembly Plant is an
automobile factory owned by General Motors located inJanesville, Wisconsin . Opened in 1919, it is currently the oldest factory still in use at GM.History
The factory was originally built to produce
Samson tractor s. These failed to find buyers, so GM switched it to producingChevrolet automobiles in 1923. It has produced automobiles and pickup trucks over the years, but today builds full-sizeSUVs .cite web|url=http://www.detnews.com/2005/autosinsider/0506/14/0auto-215373.htm|title=Can GM's oldest plant survive latest cutbacks?|work=Detroit News|accessmonthday=June 14 |accessyear=2005]Production at the factory was halted during the
Great Depression for a short time and there was a famous sit-down strike in 1937. The Janesville Assembly also producedartillery duringWorld War II .Janesville is one of three plants producing the GMT900 trucks like the
Chevrolet Suburban , and began building the next-generation short-wheelbase GMT900 trucks in January 2006. It began producing long wheelbase GMT900 trucks in March and an overtime shift was added to meet demand.Fact|date=June 2008Since 1994, the plant has also produced medium-duty trucks for
Isuzu under its partnership with GM. [cite web|url=http://www.isuzu.co.jp/world/investor/fact/gm.html|title=ISUZU: GM-Isuzu Relations|publisher=Isuzu |accessdate=2008-01-31]The plant covers 4,800,000 ft³ (446,000 m³) [General Motors. [http://gmdynamic.com/company/gmability/environment/plants/facility_db/facility_summary.php?fID=119 Janesville Assembly fact sheet] . Accessed
June 27 2008 .] and employed 3,900 workers in 2005 with a peak of around 7,000 in 1970.2008
Fuel prices and related slow sales of SUVs have affected the Janesville plant. In April 2008, GM announced that the plant would cut back full-time production to a single shift. Combined with an ongoing employee buy-out program, layoffs were expected to total around 750 jobs in July 2008. [cite news|url=http://www.madison.com/wsj/home/local/283632|title=Janesville GM plant cutting 750 jobs|author=Barry Adams|date=
April 29 2008 |publisher=Wisconsin State Journal |accessdate=2008-04-29]During GM's 2008 Annual shareholder meeting on
June 3 ,2008 , CEO Rick Wagoner announced that the Janesville assembly plant would close by 2010, along with three other GM factories. It could close sooner if the market dictates. [ [http://www.bizjournals.com/milwaukee/stories/2008/06/02/daily9.html GM closing Janesville assembly plant - The Business Journal of Milwaukee: ] ] The cutbacks announced, along with other changes, were expected to save the North American division $1 billion per year starting in 2010. Combined with previous efforts, GM expects to reduce costs by $15 billion a year in its North America operations. [ [http://media.gm.com/servlet/GatewayServlet?target=http://image.emerald.gm.com/gmnews/viewmediaspeechdetail.do?domain=588&docid=46165 General Motors Press Conference - Annual Meeting of Stockholders] . Rick Wagoner, General Motors Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. Wilmington, Delaware.June 3 ,2008 .]GM extended its annual summer shutdown an additional two weeks and planned another ten weeks of shutdown for the remainder of 2008 because of excess inventories of SUV's made at the plant. [Janesville [http://gazettextra.com/news/2008/jun/24/janesville-gm-plant-targeted-downtime/ Janesville GM plant targeted for downtime] .
June 24 ,2008 .]In June 2008, a study by Steven Deller, a University of Wisconsin-Madison / Extension professor, indicated that the plant's closure could result in a ripple effect for the county. Based on a number of estimates and 2007 employment data, his worst case scenario was the loss of 9,000 jobs and nearly half a billion dollars of labor income in Rock County. [Associated Press. [http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-ap-wi-gmfactories-wis.,0,5843208.story Study: Janesville GM closing could result job loss of 9,000]
June 21 ,2008 .]ee also
*
List of GM factories References
External links
* [http://www.janesvillecvb.com/gm.asp Janesville Convention and Visitor's Bureau - Janesville Assembly]
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