1,000 face layoffs at GM's Willow Run complex
By STEFANIE MURRAYThe Ann Arbor News
Nearly 1,000 people will be laid off from two transmission plants inside General Motors Corp.'s sprawling Willow Run facility Monday, as the company shuts down production because of the ongoing strike at American Axle and Manufacturing Holdings Inc.
The 11-day strike by United Auto Workers union employees has stopped the flow of component parts to GM and is now affecting at least 19 of the company's factories. The UAW and American Axle talked Thursday and were scheduled to meet again today, American Axle spokeswoman Renee Rogers said.
At Willow Run in Ypsilanti Township, the shutdown will affect 462 workers at Ypsilanti Transmission Operations, which makes six-speed transmissions, spokeswoman Daphne Adams said. Portions of the Willow Run transmission plant will also be affected, as 521 tradesman and people who work on the 4L80 transmission and two converters will be laid off.
As of now, the strike is not impacting the other roughly 1,000 hourly workers at the Willow Run transmission plant, nor the 800 people who work at the site's Ypsilanti Engineering Center. In total, the shutdown will impact about 1,000 of the total 3,300 salary and hourly workers who work among the three separate business units within the Willow Run facility.
While the plants are idled, the hourly workers affected are entitled to state unemployment benefits and supplemental pay per the UAW's contract with GM.
The Associated Press contributed to this report. Contact Stefanie Murray at smurray@annarbornews.com or 734-994-6932.
Nearly 1,000 people will be laid off from two transmission plants inside General Motors Corp.'s sprawling Willow Run facility Monday, as the company shuts down production because of the ongoing strike at American Axle and Manufacturing Holdings Inc.
The 11-day strike by United Auto Workers union employees has stopped the flow of component parts to GM and is now affecting at least 19 of the company's factories. The UAW and American Axle talked Thursday and were scheduled to meet again today, American Axle spokeswoman Renee Rogers said.
At Willow Run in Ypsilanti Township, the shutdown will affect 462 workers at Ypsilanti Transmission Operations, which makes six-speed transmissions, spokeswoman Daphne Adams said. Portions of the Willow Run transmission plant will also be affected, as 521 tradesman and people who work on the 4L80 transmission and two converters will be laid off.
As of now, the strike is not impacting the other roughly 1,000 hourly workers at the Willow Run transmission plant, nor the 800 people who work at the site's Ypsilanti Engineering Center. In total, the shutdown will impact about 1,000 of the total 3,300 salary and hourly workers who work among the three separate business units within the Willow Run facility.
While the plants are idled, the hourly workers affected are entitled to state unemployment benefits and supplemental pay per the UAW's contract with GM.
The Associated Press contributed to this report. Contact Stefanie Murray at smurray@annarbornews.com or 734-994-6932.
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