The automaker said it will add a third shift at its Fairfax plant in Kansas City, Kan., in January. That will be followed in March or April by third shifts at factories in Delta Township, Mich., near Lansing, and Fort Wayne, Ind.
About 2,400 production workers will be recalled as a result of the added shifts, and an additional 600 will be recalled at parts factories across the country, said Tim Lee, group vice president for global manufacturing.
The increases announced Tuesday, coupled with other production increases unveiled during the summer, will allow GM to raise North American production from about 1.9 million vehicles this year to 2.8 million in 2010, Lee said.
Spring Hill to closeThe increase also is necessary because of an expected sales increase next year and because GM's inventory of cars and trucks was at a record-low level of 378,000 at the end of August, said Mark LaNeve, vice president of U.S. sales.
The Fairfax plant makes the midsize Chevrolet Malibu, Saturn Aura and Buick LaCrosse, while Delta Township makes the Buick Enclave, GMC Acadia and Saturn Outlook large crossover vehicles. The Fort Wayne factory makes pickup trucks.
GM said in a statement that Fairfax will get all production of the Malibu when a midsize car factory in Orion Township, Mich., closes Nov. 25. It will be converted to a small-car plant and reopen in 2011.
Delta Township will get production of the Chevrolet Traverse large crossover when the Spring Hill, Tenn., factory that makes them closes, also on Nov. 25. That plant will go on standby in case demand increases.
Fort Wayne will add production of heavy-duty versions of the GMC Sierra and Chevrolet Silverado pickups that are being made in Pontiac, Mich. That factory is to close at the end of September, the company said in a statement.
Lee said GM would not hire new workers to staff the additional shifts. In-stead, the company generally will first offer the jobs to workers at the plants that will be closed. After that, they will be offered to workers in the region and then across the nation, he said. GM, under its contract with the United Auto Workers union, will pay to move workers from other cities, he said.
Although the company's dealer inventory is low now, it will take a minimum of three months to add the shifts because workers must be moved and because machinery must be disassembled and moved from Spring Hill and Pontiac, the company said.
GM plans to move tooling for the Traverse from Spring Hill later this year and hopes to begin build Traverses by January of next year.
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