General Motors will be cutting down on production and laying off 100 workers at its Orion Assembly GM plant in Detroit. The company laid off 160 previously in November.
The Orion Assembly GM plant manufactures GMs two compact cars: the Chevrolet Sonic and the Buick Verano. Sales have been dropping consistently as consumer preference leans towards SUVs and pickup trucks due to lower fuel prices. Sonic sales are 28.5 % down and Verano 16% down from the same time last year.
According to an article in Reuters, a GM spokesman said that the cut in production is in line with the company’s strategy to match supply with demand and match production with customer preferences. He said they did not want to repeat the mistake which lead to the 2009 bankruptcy and restructuring of GM.
GM plans to lay off a total of 260 workers from a workforce of 1,580 hourly workers and 180 permanent positions by the end of the year.