"Spring Hill GM Plant To Cease Production, Overhaul Facility"

Production will grind to a halt at the General Motors plant in Spring Hill later this week. As of Friday, 2,400 employees will be without a job when the plant ceases manufacturing to turn its attention to re-tooling. Most of the laid off workers will receive the bulk of their pay during the layoff. As a whole, workers don’t seem to upset about it. GM Executives held a private meeting at the plant Thursday where they told the 2,400 employees they would be laid off from anywhere between 12 and 18 but be paid 83% of their salary during the layoff. The employees were also assured they would ...have a job when the plant reopens in mid-2008. To help with the overhaul, 1,200 employees will stay on. The nearly seven million square foot facility is expected to be down for about a year for the overhaul that will change the plant from a Saturn plastic-based plant to a GM heavy metal plant. The new facility will reportedly build a Cross-Over that fits six passengers, similar to the Buick Enclave. Officials said the car will function as an SUV but drive as smooth as a Cadillac. The plant will also be constructed in a way so it can build any GM product so if, for instance, one vehicle isdiscontinued, the plant will be ready to switch up and build a new model. It has been nearly 20 years since the General Motors plant opened in spring hill to manufacture the newly introduced Saturn.