Spring Hill Saturn Plant (Columbia: unemployment, bankrupt, calculation)

[rossc]

Did anyone else hear that GM was shutting down the Saturn line? I'm guessing that means everyone at the Spring Hill plant will be unemployed. Not good news for the area unemployment numbers. Looks like they are also dropping or selling off Hummer and Saab and cutting Pontiac back to a niche market.

[septimus]

they don't make Saturns in Spring Hill anymore. That plant makes the chevy Traverse.

[rossc]

That's good news, as long as the traverse is not on the chopping block.

[Steve_TN]

GM would be nuts to cut the Traverse/Acadia/Enclave tpiplets. All they need to do is stop production of the Saturn Outlook version of that crossover SUV. That particular car is one of the best vehicles GM has produced in years. I have no idea why that plants is still called the Saturn plant since it doesn't build one single Saturn anymore.

[alleycat]

Originally Posted by Steve_TN

GM would be nuts to cut the Traverse/Acadia/Enclave tpiplets. All they need to do is stop production of the Saturn Outlook version of that crossover SUV. That particular car is one of the best vehicles GM has produced in years. I have no idea why that plants is still called the Saturn plant since it doesn't build one single Saturn anymore.

From what I understand (which isn't much), GM has other plants that build a version of the Traverse, and those plants are not at full capacity either.

The Saturn plant is a relatively new plant, so I assume that somebody would want it. Ford has a long history in the area (due to the old Ford Glass plant); it's probably a pipe dream but it might work if they bought the plant.

[Branch Water]

GM Names 13 Plants For Shutdowns; Cuts 190,000 Vehicles From Production Schedule
April 23, 2009
However, GM will close the Spring Hill, Tenn., plant that makes the Chevrolet Traverse for a total of five weeks despite the crossover, a cousin to the other three, being a good seller and in low supply. Traverse has a supply well below the industry average, according to Edmunds.com's calculations. Some have speculated that Traverse production could be moved to Michigan and the Spring Hill facility, once a Saturn-only plant, could be permanently shuttered. Tennessee Sen. Bob Corker, an outspoken critic of U.S. automakers, has been lobbying to keep the plant open and has been ironically accusing GM of playing politics with the plant. Corker was accused of playing politics during last fall's Congressional hearings by favoring Nissan and now Volkswagen in his state over U.S. automakers.



From recent article.

[zach99]

"Corker was accused of playing politics during last fall's Congressional hearings by favoring Nissan and now Volkswagen in his state over U.S. automakers."

The people who make that accusation are UAW types who have sucked the golden teat until it is dry and now face the prospect of having to do actual work for what other employers actually pay. These are the people who have been making a combined $70 per hour in pay and benefits for decades, while underperforming every other worker in the industry and bitching about their misfortune at every turn. Their lousy managment, lousy products, and lousy productivity have destroyed what was once a wildly profitable domestic industry, to the point that the "Big Three" are now burning the furniture to stay warm. Were it not for the generosity of the American taxpayer, these people would be out of work now. They should be thankful that the average American doesn't have a say in their receipt of billions of dollars in public funds, because the industry is held in such low regard that the average American now does not care if it fails entirely.

I used to work in the auto industry and have been inside multiple GM, Ford, Chrysler, Toyota and Honda assembly plants. There is no comparison between a foreign automaker and a domestic automaker, and this applies to the workforce as well. I could tell stories, but there's no point. The sorry condition of the domestic auto industry is now universally known and understood. The only miracle is that the domestic automakers have held on this long without going bankrupt. I have no particular like or dislike for Bob Corker, but the attempt to blame him for these problems is laughable. If there are three hundred reasons for the failure of the Big Three, Corker wouldn't even make the list. Frankly, I get tired of hearing that silly claim from UAW types with their entitlement mentality.

[scarletneon]

Originally Posted by zach99

"Corker was accused of playing politics during last fall's Congressional hearings by favoring Nissan and now Volkswagen in his state over U.S. automakers."

The people who make that accusation are UAW types who have sucked the golden teat until it is dry and now face the prospect of having to do actual work for what other employers actually pay. These are the people who have been making a combined $70 per hour in pay and benefits for decades, while underperforming every other worker in the industry and bitching about their misfortune at every turn. Their lousy managment, lousy products, and lousy productivity have destroyed what was once a wildly profitable domestic industry, to the point that the "Big Three" are now burning the furniture to stay warm. Were it not for the generosity of the American taxpayer, these people would be out of work now. They should be thankful that the average American doesn't have a say in their receipt of billions of dollars in public funds, because the industry is held in such low regard that the average American now does not care if it fails entirely.

I used to work in the auto industry and have been inside multiple GM, Ford, Chrysler, Toyota and Honda assembly plants. There is no comparison between a foreign automaker and a domestic automaker, and this applies to the workforce as well. I could tell stories, but there's no point. The sorry condition of the domestic auto industry is now universally known and understood. The only miracle is that the domestic automakers have held on this long without going bankrupt. I have no particular like or dislike for Bob Corker, but the attempt to blame him for these problems is laughable. If there are three hundred reasons for the failure of the Big Three, Corker wouldn't even make the list. Frankly, I get tired of hearing that silly claim from UAW types with their entitlement mentality.

it doesn't matter, Corker is pretty much a creepy idiot anyway.

it will be interesting to see how things fare for Columbia if the plant shuts completely. I think SH will be ok with all of the yuppies that drive all the way to Nashville for work anyway. Columbia will just get worse.

[akm4]

Rumors were flying yesterday about a Monday morning shutdown. Came from a 3M source. Who knows....

[MiddleTNresident]

There's a positive rumor floating as well that GM is going to build a new small car and that Spring Hill is the top contender for that work.