GM cuts back on Vauxhall production

General Motors said the economic downturn in Europe had forced it to close two Vauxhall production plants in Britain for a week. "As a major exporter and following the downturn in mainland Europe, Vauxhall manufacturing operations in Ellesmere Port and in Luton are implementing a down week (beginning) 24 September. This is to avoid building up stock by balancing inventory with customer orders," GM said in a statement. The Daily Telegraph reported Saturday that the Ellesmere Port plant was recently saved from a total shutdown by a decision for the factory to produce the next generation Astra. There are 2,100 workers at the Ellesmere Port plant and about 1,000 at the Luton plant. Temporary shutdowns of automobile factories are becoming more common in Europe, where many countries have fallen into a recession. At Renault, the Douai factory is scheduled for a four-day shutdown. In Italy, Fiat has closed a plant in Naples for two weeks due to over production. GM is also stopping production for 20 days at its Russelheim plant in Germany. In contrast, Jaguar Land Rover recently went to 24 hour per day production at its Halewood factory in Britain, a move that included 1,000 new jobs.