Create a free Manufacturing.net account to continue

Auto Workers Stress Over Shutdowns

Tradition of holiday breaks in the auto industry has lost its luster with extended shutdowns that leave workers wondering what's ahead in 2009.

CLEVELAND (AP) -- The auto industry's enviable tradition of holiday breaks has lost its luster with extended shutdowns that leave workers wondering what's ahead in 2009.

Chrysler is closing its 30 North American manufacturing plants until at least Jan. 19 due to slumping sales, and Ford Motor Co. will shut down 10 North American assembly plants for an extra week in January, also due to lower U.S. sales.

Ford and Chrysler workers get vacation pay for the normal holiday shutdown, then will receive unemployment benefits and supplemental pay from the company that total about 85 percent of normal pay.

At Ford's engine plant in the Cleveland suburb of Brook Park, the company's normal two-week holiday shutdown began one week early and, for now, will end Jan. 5.

UAW Local 1250 President Mike Gammella said Thursday that morale "is as good as it could possibly be" since workers were spared a shutdown beyond the normal New Year's week restart.

But workers in Brook Park are worried about UAW jobs at General Motors Corp., Chrysler and the industry's extensive supplier base, Gammella said. "Those are UAW brothers and sisters. We've got to look after them as them as well," he said.

Gammella said early sacrifices and cuts by Ford and the UAW had put the automaker in better financial shape than GM or Chrysler. All are awaiting word on appeals for financial help from Washington.

Nearly 100,000 people work in assembly plants and parts plants around Ohio. The biggest include a Chrysler LLC complex that makes Jeeps in Toledo and a General Motors factory in Lordstown that produces the Cobalt and Pontiac G5 fuel-efficient cars.

Jim Gillette, director of financial services at auto industry consultant CSM Worldwide in Grand Rapids, Mich., said the extended shutdowns would ripple through the auto-parts supplier base.

When an automaker stops production at an assembly plant, its suppliers are normally immediately affected, he said. The suppliers can't afford to continue to buy steel, plastic and other materials to make the parts.

"It's usually pretty stupid to continue production because you end up stockpiling parts that may or may not be used," Gillette said. "You're taking a huge risk."

Lindsey Williams, spokesman for Delphi Corp., which has about 20 plants in North America and supplies parts to the automakers, said the company was assessing the impact of the extended breaks.

"We are likely to align our production lines in our facilities to the down time with the associated customer," Williams said.

Chrysler sales were off 47 percent last month and are down 28 percent through the first 11 months of the year. Ford's U.S. sales were down 31 percent in November and are off 20 percent through the first 11 months of the year.

GM said last week it will temporarily close 20 factories across North America and make sweeping cuts to its vehicle production. Many of those plants will be shut down for the entire month of January.

Associated Press writer James Hannah in Dayton contributed to this report.

More in Operations