GM to Close and Sell Plants

04/15/96

GM has announced that it will restructure its Delphi Automotive Systems division, and that the reorganization will impact 5 plants and 6,200 workers in Michigan, Georgia, and Ontario. The number of workers who will lose their jobs has not been disclosed.

Delphi will sell parts plants in Livonia, Michigan and in Oshawa, and Windsor Ontario outright. The company is seeking a partner to buy into its Coldwater Road plant in Flint Michigan, and will close a generator plant in Albany, Georgia. Workers from the generator plant in Georgia will be able to transfer to Flint, Michigan or to Doraville, Georgia, if they accept the company's offer.

GM announced that they have not set a timetable for the sale of the Michigan and Ontario plants, as the company is in the very first stages of seeking buyers.

GM formed Delphi last year when it reorganized its parts division. A recent strike at a Delphi plant in Ohio crippled GM's production nationwide and cost the automaker $225 million in lost production. GM's new plans to restructure Delphi have been announced under the rubric of boosting profits and become less dependent on GM assembly plants for income.

Paul Dever -- The Auto Channel