Japanese automaker Mitsubishi says it’s extendeing production downtime at its struggling Normal, Illinois, assembly plant, though the automaker says that the 1,400 employees will still report to work and be paid as usual. The automaker has been debating the future of the assembly plant, which has to uphold its UAW contract for another four years.
The plant, which assembles the Eclipse, Endeavor and Galant, will be idled for a total of 12 weeks from February 6 to May 8.
The automaker’s sales dropped about 25 percent last year in the United States – and nearly all of the products that come out of the Illinois plant are destined for the North American market.
Mitsubishi’s CEO has suggested that the plant might best be utilized for export production. Rumors continue to swirl that Mitsubishi will downsize its North American lineup to compete better in the lucrative small car segment, though the automaker hasn’t confirmed any such plans.
01/28, 9:21 AM
posted by:
iluvamcars
How many times will they do this??????????????????
AMERICAN, NOTHING ELSE
01/28, 9:26 AM
posted by:
05Z88Path
So if the workers still report to work…but the plant is idle, what the hell do they do all day?
01/28, 10:02 AM
posted by:
Zcarsales
05Z88Path, they sweep. They sweep like they’ve never swept before. I’m just waiting for the human interest story on ABC news about how this poor guy is going to the poor house because he was an assembly line worker at an auto plant, and they won’t say that he ample opportunity to read the writing on the wall to start looking for a new job.
01/28, 10:03 AM
posted by:
Need more oil for GM
Sit around wishing they worked for a winning company that actually caresd about its employees and is good for this country. They want to work for GM
THESE PIGS ARE AN EMBARRASSMENT TO THEIR COUNTRY BY WORKING FOR A FORIEGN OWNED AUTOMAKER!
Be American, buy American. Buy GM
01/28, 11:02 AM
posted by:
johnnycanuck
Mitsu could very well be the first major casualty of this current mess. Problem is I’m not sure that many people will care if they were.
01/28, 11:03 AM
posted by:
Borat
05Z88Path, they get calluses on the palm of their hands from sweeping
01/28, 11:06 AM
posted by:
Borat
Johnny, if you recall, and you should Mitsu shot itself in both feet with fake quality reports and cost of maintenance. Their CEO was sued (novel idea, perhaps we should follow their lead) and they had major restructuring. Mitsu also was hangin’ in Benz company and was dropped off credit and help as yesterday news (prelude to ChryCo). Albeit their technology went into Smart and A-Class cars.
01/28, 11:06 AM
posted by:
DaSpyda
Need: you’re an idiot. Even GM imports cars…
There is no more “American” company.
01/28, 11:32 AM
posted by:
Need more oil for GM
Maybe if Mitsubushi hadn’t built warplanes in WW2, they’d have a better reputation in the world.
01/28, 6:23 PM
posted by:
tyler_is_aero_tt
Who cares every auto company is doing this.
01/29, 4:25 AM
posted by:
fluffythomas
Hey “Need more oil for GM” what sort of comment is that ?? Thats like saying we wouldn’t have created a Global economic and political divide if the US hadn’t dropped an atom bomb on Hiroshima – this is a car website and not a playground for extremist bigoted comments like yours – stick with four wheels man !!! BTW didn’t Ford and GM etc also build for the military too ??? Look who is being bailed out now…………
01/29, 4:39 AM
posted by:
fluffythomas
And the only “successful” part of GM now is in Europe with Opel – check out the new Insignia for example – better Design, quality and fuel economy than anything built stateside which is why GM can’t export anything outside it’s shrinking US market either – and with such a cosmopolitan ethnic demographic as the US I wager that your GM wasn’t even built by an “American” anyway – so lets leave politics aside and start loving cars because as with every crisis – necessity is the mother of invention.
01/29, 9:34 AM
posted by:
Need more oil for GM
THESE PIGS ARE AN EMBARRASSMENT TO THEIR COUNTRY BY WORKING FOR A FORIEGN OWNED AUTOMAKER!
Be American, buy American. Buy GM
01/29, 10:31 AM
posted by:
fluffythomas
Well your country was run by an embarrassment for 8 years so you should be used to that – long live Obama !!!
And if we are splitting hairs take for example the new GM flagship Camaro which was designed by Sangyup Lee who has Korean roots !!! A company needs a multinational team to survive globally or didn’t you realise ?
Better to be a pig than pig-headed……………