DETROIT – Reality is setting in for General Motors workers after the company announced Monday that it will lay off nearly 15,000 factory and white collar jobs.
There are a total of five GM plants shutting down next year, two of which are in Metro Detroit -- the Warren Transmission plant with 335 jobs and the Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly plant with more than 2,000 jobs. The other shutdowns are at plants in Lordstown, Ohio, Baltimore, and Oshawa, Ontario.
Many workers were still trying to comprehend why on Tuesday morning.
"I felt like someone kicked me in the stomach," said David Green, a local union president.
The answer is that despite being profitable GM is seeing declining sales for particular cars. The Cadillac XTS and CT6, the Buick Lacrosse and Chevrolet's Impala, Cruze and Volt no longer will be made, meaning the factories that make them won't be needed.
Warren Transmission is set to close in August 2019 while Detroit-Hamtramck will start layoffs in March.
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