GM to lay off 1,200 in metro Detroit, 1,600 total

General Motors Corp. will lay off about 1,600 hourly workers at assembly plants in Detroit, Pontiac and Wilmington, Del., as it responds to decreasing demand for trucks, large cars and luxury cars, the company said today.

The company will lay off 500 workers at its Detroit Hamtramck Assembly plant on Dec. 23 due to reduced demand for the Buick Lucerne and Cadillac DTS, the company reported to the state today.

GM Spokesman Tony Sapienza said the Detroit Hamtramck layoffs are effective Jan. 12.

It will lay off 700 workers at GM’s Pontiac truck assembly, where it assembles the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickups beginning Feb. 1.

The automaker will lay off 400 workers at its Wilmington, Del., assembly plant beginning Dec. 8. The Wilmington plant assembles the Saturn Sky, Pontiac Solstice and Opel GT roadsters.

GM spokeswoman Sherrie Childers Arb said the layoffs in Detroit and Pontiac are the result of planned line-speed reductions. The action at Wilmington, she said, is the result of plans to reduce production from two shifts to one.

The notice of pending December layoffs is just the latest in a cascade of layoff announcements from the struggling automaker. GM announced on Monday plans to close its Janesville plant on Dec. 23 — more than a year before originally scheduled — and new plans to close its Grand Rapids stamping plant by December of next year. Earlier this month, the company announced plans to accelerate the closure of its Moraine, Ohio, assembly plant by more than a year. That plant will also close on Dec. 23.

Analysts expect GM to announce more production cuts and plant closures.

The company is in the midst of cutting costs to increase its operating cash amid the worst auto market in more than a decade and a global economic slowdown that economists believe still could worsen.

Contact KATIE MERX at 313-222-8762 or kmerx@freepress.com