General Motors has announced that it will eliminate the third shift at an assembly plant near Lansing, Michigan — laying off approximately 1,000 workers. The plant — which makes the Buick Enclave, GMC Acadia and Saturn Outlook — was operating on three shifts to meet initial demand for the crossovers.
“We said at the beginning this would be a temporary measure,” said Tom Wickham, a company spokesperson.
GM insists the shift elimination is to control inventory in order to prevent heavy discounting of excess vehicles, not because of decreased demand. “Demand is not slackening,” Wickham said.
According to The Detroit News, the lay off is expected to impact 510 low-seniority full-time workers and 497 temporary employees.
GM failed to mention if it has any plans to reinstate the third shift sometime in the future.
