Spring Hill To Be Idled in GM Bankruptcy Plan

As part of General Motor’s bankruptcy announcement, the automaker also said today it will idle or close 14 manufacturing plants, including the one in Spring Hill.

In November, production of the Chevy Traverse will move to another GM facility, leaving at least 25-hundred employees without work. Mike Herron, who is chairman of the UAW Local 1853, says thousands of supply jobs around Tennessee will also be at risk, including 875 who work on the factory floor beside GM employees.

“When you talk about that, that’s a significant economic engine for the area. So there’s just one heck of a lot of trickle down effect or domino effect it will have in job losses during this period of time.”

Herron says laid off employees will be eligible for 80-percent of their pay during the downtime for up to a year.

He also says GM Spring Hill will compete with other sites for a new assignment, possibly a small car, noting that’s where Spring Hill got its start 25 years ago, developing a new fuel-efficient vehicle to help the automaker compete with imports.

The Saturn brand was developed in the mid-80s to help GM compete with fuel-efficient cars from Japan.

The last of Saturn production left town in 2007. The brand’s exit from its birthplace was tempered by GM’s commitment to invest a billion dollars in retooling the plant.

Herron says workers are disappointed that the plant will be indefinitely idled, but Spring Hill is well-positioned.

“Everything in that facility is new. It’s state of the art and its ready to go ahead an build new products, so we feel good as we go forward that we have all of our ducks in a row.”