Layoffs seen as GM slows truck production

General Motors Corp. will cut the number of pickup trucks it produces at its Pontiac, Mich., assembly plant and lay off an unspecified number of workers because of a slowing pickup truck market.

The move will take place starting in early September at the plant, which employs about 2,800 hourly workers, including 300 temporary employees hired to replace those who accepted buyout and early retirement offers, company spokesman Tom Wickham said Tuesday.

The number of workers who will be laid off has not yet been determined, he said, but the plant’s assembly line speed will be reduced from 54.5 vehicles per hour to 45.

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The Pontiac plant makes mostly heavy-duty GMC Sierra and Chevrolet Silverado pickups.

“There’s been a decline in the full-sized pickup market. We’ve seen a decline in the heavy duty side, which prompted the action we took,” Wickham said.

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Temporary workers would be laid off first and would receive no benefits, Wickham said. If it’s necessary to lay off full-time workers, they would receive benefits or would have the chance to go to other GM plants nearby if there are openings, he said.

GM also makes pickup trucks in Flint; Fort Wayne, Ind.; Oshawa, Ontario; and Silao, Mexico. Production cuts are not scheduled for any of those plants, Wickham said.

GM and other pickup manufacturers have been hurt by intense competition and a nationwide slowdown in the homebuilding industry.