The closures will displace 18,000 to 20,000 GM employees, the company said.
Six of the plants are in GM's home state of Michigan, which has already been hard-hit by job cuts in the auto industry.
GM's assembly plant in Wilmington, Del., will close in July, followed by its Pontiac, Mich., pickup truck plant in October.
Assembly plants in Spring Hill, Tenn., and Orion, Mich., will end production this fall but remain on "standby," meaning workers can be called back should the company need to increase production.
One of those plants may be retooled to produce a subcompact vehicle that GM had originally planned to build in China.
A plant shuttered in April in Janesville, Wis., will also get "standby" status and could be one of the plants to produce the small car, GM officials said.
The closings will bring GM's U.S. factory count from to 34 by the end of 2010, compared to 47 at the end of 2008. The company will shutter an additional plant by the end of 2012.
Workers were notified of the plant closings Monday, and those slated to cease operation continued to churn out cars and trucks throughout the day, said Tim Lee, vice president of manufacturing for GM North America. When Chrysler filed for bankruptcy protection April 30, its plants went idle almost immediately, with workers leaving their shifts early.
"We're running business as usual this morning," Lee said.
"Our operations will be ongoing, we have customer orders to fill and great products to make."
Nearly all of General Motors' plants were previously scheduled to shut down for up to 11 weeks this summer to cut costs and align production levels with the shrunken demand.
Todd Horton, editor of the newsletter at the Spring Hill factory's United Auto Workers local, said the 2,500 employees got the news of the shutdown Monday morning. He said the Chevrolet Traverse crossover vehicle built there will be made in Lansing, Mich., instead.
Five GM powertrain plants, which make engines and transmissions, will close by December 2010. They are in Livonia, Flint and Ypsilanti Township, Mich.; Parma, Ohio; and Fredericksburg, Va.
Parts stamping plants in Indianapolis and Mansfield, Ohio, also will close starting next year. A stamping plant in Pontiac, Mich., will shut down production by December 2010 but remain in standby status.
In addition to the closures revealed Monday, a powertrain plant in Massena, N.Y., closed May 1, and GM previously announced the closure of a Grand Rapids, Mich., stamping plant, slated to shut down this month.
GM said it will also close service and parts warehouses in Boston, Jacksonville, Fla., and Columbus, Ohio, by the end of this year.
Lee said various factors went into the decision on which factories to shutter, such as their proximity to other plants, as it is more cost effective to have stamping plants near the assembly plants they feed.
"These big box stamping plants are somewhat of a relic of the past," Lee said.
The Shreveport, La., plant that makes Hummer SUVs, and GMC and Chevrolet pickups, will remain open, although GM is looking to sell of its Hummer brand. Lee said the plant's fate could change based on what happens to Hummer.
Delaware Gov. Jack Markell said Troy Clarke, GM's head of North American operations, informed him Sunday night that the Wilmington plant would close. GM has downsized the work force at the plant, which makes the Pontiac Solstice and Saturn Sky, over several years. GM plans to sell off Saturn and phase out its Pontiac line.
"GM has sent many strong signals for the past four years that it was leaning toward closing this plant," said the governor in a statement. "But that does not make this news any less unfortunate or soften its impact on the workers and their families."
Officials will deploy teams of workers from the state departments of labor and health and social services to help workers with training and government assistance, said the governor's spokesman, Joe Rogalsky said.
----
A look at the plants General Motors Corp. said Monday it will
close or idle, with the number of hourly employees affected at each
location.
Assembly plants scheduled to close:
- Wilmington, Del. Scheduled to close in July. Cars produced at
the plant include the Pontiac Solstice, the Pontiac Solstice Coupe,
the Saturn Sky and the Opel GT. (966 employees)
- Pontiac, Mich. Set to shut its doors by October. Produces the
GMC Sierra, a sports utility vehicle, and the Chevrolet Silverado.
(1,370 employees)
Assembly plants expected to be idled:
- Orion, Mich. Assembles Chevrolet Malibu and the Pontiac G6.
Will halt production in September. (3,190 employees)
- Spring Hill, Tenn. Assembles Chevrolet Traverse. Will halt
production in November. (2,447 employees)
Two new stamping plants, which mold sheets of steel into different auto parts, are set to close permanently:
- Mansfield, Ohio. Will close by June 2010. (1,202 employees)
- Indianapolis. Will close by December 2011. (620 employees)
One stamping plant will be idled:
- Pontiac Metal in Pontiac, Mich. Expected to shut down at least temporarily by December 2010. (829 employees)
Five plants where powertrain systems are produced are scheduled to close:
- Livonia Engine in Livonia, Mich. Will close by June 2010. (83
employees)
- Four other powertrain plants will close by December 2010:
Flint North in Flint, Mich. (566 employees); Willow Run near
Ypsilanti, Mich. (1,178 employees); Parma, Ohio, near Cleveland (37
employees), and Fredericksburg, Va., Components (68 employees).
Three service and parts warehouses and parts distribution centers are also on the closure list:
- Warehouses in Boston (66 employees), Jacksonville, Fla. (66 employees) and Columbus, Ohio (60 employees). Set to close by the end of this year.
Source: General Motors Corp.
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