GM Plant Shuts Down Production

A white Chevrolet Trailblazer EXT was the last vehicle to roll off the line at General Motors Corp.'s Oklahoma plant Monday evening, according to Associated Press reports. After 27 years, GM shut down production in the first of 12 facilities that the company plans to close by 2008 as it struggles to match production with market demand.

Detroit-based GM plans to cut 30,000 jobs. The Oklahoma City plant employs 2,400-2,200 hourly and 200 salaried workers, but economists say as many as 7,500 jobs could be affected including those at GM suppliers and secondary jobs such as hotel and restaurant workers.