The Lear factory makes seats and interior trim components for the large sport utility vehicles that are selling poorly this year in light of skyrocketing gas prices.
The Lear cuts, effective July 14, coincide with the switch at the GM Janesville assembly plant from two to one production shifts, which will result in the loss of 750 GM jobs.
The cuts follow what GM termed a "dramatic" softening in demand for large sport utility vehicles and pickup trucks. The big SUVs made in Janesville get 14 to 16 miles per gallon, on average, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.
Lear's announcement came on the same day that the average price of regular unleaded gasoline topped $3.81 in Janesville for the first time, according to AAA. In the Milwaukee area, AAA said the average price was more than $3.96 a gallon Friday, also a record.
Sales of the large SUVs assembled in Janesville are off sharply so far this year. Compared with the same period last year, sales through April were off 27% for Chevrolet Tahoes, 29% for Chevrolet Suburbans, 31% for GMC Yukons and 33% for GMC Yukon XLs.
Including 140 people already laid off this year, the GM plant at mid-year will have one-third fewer workers than it had at the beginning of this year. More cuts are coming, as GM also plans to trim the number of salaried workers at the plant in light of the switch to one shift, a plant spokeswoman said.
GM's union workers have until Thursday to decide whether to accept early retirement or buyout packages that the automaker offered earlier this year.
Fifth-largest employer
A representative of Lear couldn't be reached for comment. The company employed more than 900 people in 2006, according to city records, making it the fifth largest employer after Mercy Hospital, GM, the School District of Janesville and Rock County government.
Earlier this month, another GM vendor, Logistics Services Inc., notified authorities of plans to lay off 132 workers beginning in July.
Lear, based in Southfield, Mich., is a competitor of Glendale-based Johnson Controls Inc, with 2007 sales of $15.4 billion. GM is Lear's largest customer.
To see more of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.jsonline.com. Copyright (c) 2008, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.
More News:
Market Updates |
Stock Alerts |
All Trading News |
Stock Index
|
|
