Page 25 - ARUBA TODAY

BUSINESS Thursday 15 June 2017
A25

GM extends summer shutdown at 2 car plants as demand falls

By TOM KRISHER vehicles is slowing after
AP Auto Writer seven years of growth. To-
DETROIT (AP) — General tal U.S. sales are down 2
Motors is extending the percent through May and
normal two-week summer many analysts are predict-
shutdown for at least two ing that full-year sales will
U.S. car factories because slow to 17.2 million, com-
of slumping sedan sales. pared with last year’s re-
Union officials say the Lord- cord of 17.5 million.
stown, Ohio, plant near Robert Morales, president
Cleveland and the Fairfax of a United Auto Workers
plant in Kansas City, Kan- union local at the Lord-
sas, will close for as many stown factory, says the
as five weeks in June and plant will stop production
July. The company con- for the last two weeks in
firmed that some car June and another three
factories would be shut weeks in July. “It’s just to
down longer than usual align with market demand,
but would not give de- that’s all,” he said Wednes-
tails. Lordstown makes the day.The Lordstown plant
Chevrolet Cruze compact has about 3,000 hourly and
sedan, while Fairfax builds salaried workers. Last year
the Chevrolet Malibu mid- GM suspended the third
size car. shift at the plant indefinite-
The additional shutdowns ly as demand dropped.
come as all automak- In this Monday, Jan. 28, 2013 photo, cars move along an assembly line at the General Motors The Fairfax plant has about
ers struggle to deal with a Fairfax plant in Kansas City, Kan. General Motors is extending the normal two-week summer shut- 3,500 workers.
shrinking U.S. market that is down at two U.S. car factories because of slumping demand. Union officials say the Lordstown, It was unclear whether
Ohio, plant near Cleveland and the Fairfax plant in Kansas City, Kan., will close for as long as five
dramatically shifting away weeks in June and July 2017. other GM plants will see
from cars toward trucks (AP Photo/Orlin Wagner) extended summer shut-
and SUVs of all sizes. Some downs, which normally
are continuing to produce offering big discounts to Through May, U.S. car sales rose nearly 5 percent, ac- happen over the July 4 hol-
cars and selling them to individual buyers while oth- were down 11 percent cording to Autodata Corp. iday as factories switch to
rental car companies or ers are cutting production. while truck and SUV sales Also, overall demand for the next model year.q
Foxconn, assembler of iPhones, eyes Wisconsin for plant

By SCOTT BAUER least one other upper Mid- employ about 1 million the Wisconsin Technology as 50,000 jobs. The compa-
Associated Press west state, Michigan, is also people. It has been the Council, who noted that ny was purchased last year
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A pursuing the plant. subject of complaints for Wisconsin is already home of Japan’s Sharp Corp.
Taiwanese company that President Donald Trump al- years about its labor prac- to similar electronic manu- Walker made a brief, pre-
assembles Apple’s iPhones luded to negotiations with tices and worker suicides at facturers. viously unannounced trip
and other electronics is an unspecified company plants in China that manu- “I am assuming Foxconn to Japan the weekend of
considering building a during a visit to Milwaukee facture Apple products. was attracted by the fact June 2 to pursue an undis-
plant in Wisconsin that on Tuesday, saying Walker Walker’s administration there’s already a skilled closed economic devel-
could employ thousands might get “a very happy deferred comment to the workforce here and there’s opment opportunity. That
of people and give Gov. surprise very soon.” Trump state’s chief economic a foundation to produce same weekend, Michigan
Scott Walker a huge politi- said “we were negotiat- development agency. more such workers through Gov. Rick Snyder was also
cal boost as he prepares to ing with a major, major in- Wisconsin Economic De- the tech colleges and the in Japan.
run for re-election. credible manufacturer of velopment Corporation other parts of the educa- Snyder has been increas-
A person with direct knowl- phones and computers spokesman Mark Maley tion system,” Still said. ing pressure on Michigan
edge of the negotiations and televisions.” said the agency doesn’t Foxconn, founded in 1974, lawmakers to approve tax
who was not authorized to Foxconn assembles smart- comment on pending or announced in January that incentives for large-scale
speak publicly confirmed phones and other devices potential opportunities. it was considering investing business expansions in the
to The Associated Press on for Apple, Sony, Blackberry “It would be great for Wis- $7 billion in a U.S. factory state as it tries to convince
Wednesday that the state and other brands — mostly consin for a lot of reasons,” to produce display panels Foxconn to locate in his
is in talks with Foxconn. At in China, where its plants said Tom Still, president of that would create as many state.q