Cutbacks at Spring Hill auto plant

Officials with General Motors today announced that the Saturn plant in Spring Hill will stop making the Ion sedan.

One of two production lines at the factory will close; 15-hundred jobs will be affected.

The line closure is part of a nationwide plan to cut G-M’s costs. Spokesman Stefan Weinmann says even though production at the Spring Hill facility will be cut by about half, GM still remains committed to the Saturn brand.

“Saturn as a brand is very, very well taken care of and will have a sharpened image. It continues to be an important cornerstone for our brand portfolio.”

The Spring Hill plant will continue to make the Saturn VUE, a sport utility vehicle. The company says it plans to develop a hybrid version of that vehicle.

Matt Kisber, the state’s Economic and Community Development Commissioner, says the announcement did not come as a surprise. He says GM has been telling the state for several years that the Ion was due to be either refreshed or replaced. Kisber says the production line being shut down at Spring Hill may later be reopened to make another kind of vehicle.

“General Motors, their board, last summer allocated a little less than 500-million dollars for the retooling of the Spring Hill facility in order to make it capable of producing any type of General Motors product. We believe that resolution of certain issue through this process will afford them the opportunity to expend those dollars still on the table, and should that take place, I think down the road we’d see other GM non-Saturn products assembled at the Spring Hill facility.”

Union leaders share Kisber’s optimism. United Auto Workers Union local 18-53 President Mike O’Rourke says that GM’s decision to cut 30-thousand jobs across the country and shutter nine plants is a slap in the face to labor. But he is confident for the future.

“We met with GM general management early this morning and they have committed to us that they are going to live up to the agreements they with the local, with the union here, and they fully plan to bring new product into Spring Hill, Tennessee.”

The job loss is expected create a ripple effect throughout the community.

Michelle Boehms is a real estate agent in Maury County. She says she wasn’t surprised by the announcement, though she is concerned about the effect it will have on business.

“I don’t feel like I’ll sell less houses, I feel like that the house market and our marketability will be lowered somewhat, therefore maybe we’ll be selling them…for less.”

Spring Hill has a population of more than 21-thousand. Saturn is the town’s largest employer.

Reporters Jacqueline Fellows and Blake Farmer contributed to this report.