The News Journal from Wilmington, Delaware • Page 41

tin 1 THE NEWS JOURNAL C3 DECISION DAY How be Boxwood Road shtitdowi. affects Del Announced plant closings Details of GM's seven plant closings and two possible i shutdowns FRIDAY, DEC. 4, 1992 ys-V Elsmere CM Boxwood DETAIL I Nwartc Pl'j APCHARLES REX AR BOCA ST if Thomas McMaster, a security guard at GM's Ewlng Township, N.J., plant, says this Is the second plant he's seen close. sJmirnMlfliini Wilmington, Boxwood Road assembly plant with 3,500 employees. The plant, which produces Chervrolet Corsica and Beretta models, will cease operations after the 1996 model year, rj Kalamazoo, metal fabricating plant with 3,100 employees.

It will phase out operations after the conclusion of the 1995 model year. Syracuse, N.Y., (Inland Fisher Guide Division) component plant with 1 ,300 employees. It will cease operations in the fourth quarter of 1993. Euclid, Ohio, (Inland Fisher Guide Division) component plant with 550 employees. It will cease operations as soon as possible, but no later than mid-1994.

)Ewing Township, N.J., component plant with 2,050 employees. The facility produces door handles, seat adjusters, and body moldings. It will cease operations in the fourth quarter of 1 993. Livonia, (Delco Chassis Division) component plant with 2,000 employees. It will cease operations in the fourth quarter of 1993 when GM discontinues these lines of business.

Ifcly Possible closings: (8) Flint, truck assembly plant with 4,450 employees. Will continue to assemble Chevrolet and GMC Truck full-size vans through the 1995 model year. (9) St. Catharines, Ontario, employing about BOO people, may be put up for sale. Sioux City.

Iowa, component plant with 200 ii With these actions, we now have a plan in place to reach our production capacity goal of 5.4 million units by the mid-1990s, which we believe to be in line with market demand for our products. 5 GM Chief Executive Jack Smith ii They're bleeding to death and now we're going to take it on the chin for their inability to run their business. The corporation has really lost touch with what's gone on out there. I think they woke up too late. Tom Martin, UAW shop chairman ft We sensed that our plant may be one.

We were hoping against hope it wouldn't happen. We will have to make the best of it. 33 Sioux City, Iowa, Mayor Robert E. Scott dDimitfiimiui employees. Work there will be consolidated at GM's AC Rochester facility in Rochester, N.Y., by the first half of 1993.

steps GM has taken to stem the losses in its North American automotive operations. The cutbacks are showing results. Analysts expect GM to lose about $1 billion this year overall but closer to $3 billion in North America, where losses in 1990-91 approached $12 billion. GM told Wall Street analysts last month it would break even before taxes and interest in North America next year. However, demand for GM cars and trucks continues to slide against vigorous competition from Ford and a rejuvenated Chrysler Corp.

Ford and Chrysler reacted more quickly than GM to Japanese competition by adopting Japanese-style manufacturing as they closed plants and shrank their ca- From staff and wire reports The shrinking of the world's largest automaker probably is not over. More plants and workers likely fall as General Motors Corp. eliminates parts businesses that have drained it of cash. The seven plants targeted in Thursday's cutbacks are among 21 GM said it would close last 1 December as part of a downsizing that includes 74,000 positions. The other 14 were named earlier.

Five of the plants make compo-f'nents for GM cars and represented part of the automaker's bloated cost structure. According to a recent manufacturing efficiency study, GM has a $795 cost disadvantage per car compared Ford Motor Co. i to GM relies heavily on its own unionized parts suppliers, who earn wages comparable to its assemblers. Ford buys 50 percent of its parts from outside suppliers. GM's Automotive Components Group, which has $24 billion in annual sales, said Thursday it would focus on seven businesses and shed the rest through sales, joint ventures or strategic partnerships.

Industry analysts continued to applaud GM's moves. "These announcements show that the new management team at GM is more interested in lowering costs to the consumer than in paying above-market wages to its employees," said Ronald Glantz, an auto industry analyst with Dean Witter Reynolds Inc. in San Francisco. "Obviously that is a 1991 1992 Big Three earnings Quarterly net earnings including one-time gains and losses. 'GM gypsies' go where jobs are mb Motors skssS5 $1,000 1 $600 I In millions I In millions I 500 I 400 111 -400 -600 "800 1991 1992 Source: Company reports I The News JoumalDAN GARROW pacity in the last decade.

"With these actions, we now have a plan in place to reach our production capacity goal of 5.4 million units by the mid-1990s, which we believe to be in line with market demand for our products," GM Chief Executive Jack Smith said in a statement. Sean McAlinden, an economist at theUniversity of Michigan's Office for the Study of Automotive Transportation, said, that with Thursday's annoucement, GM is "saying the East Coast is not a good place to make auto parts or vehicles." "It's far from the center of their continental markets. They have high taxes and nasty environmental resources departments," McAlinden said. Long, president of UAW Local 653 in Pontiac, which was hit hard when GM shut its Fiero assembly plant in Pontiac in 1988. Some former Fiero workers moved to Tarrytown, N.Y., but couldn't afford the high cost of living in the New York City area.

They ended up living in campgrounds while their families stayed in Michigan. That plant is now slated for closing. "I've seen so many families broken up over this. I can't believe it," Long said. GM and United Auto Workers officials said they do not know how many jobs might be available elsewhere in GM for the more than 18,000 workers who could lose their jobs in the new plant closings.

Rules governing job transfers for most of these workers will be negotiated next fall when GM and the UAW sit down to work out a new contract. Workers are eligible for jobs in other GM plants if they become open, based on seniority. pany to compete effectively on a worldwide basis." "Eaton is particularly suited for where Chrysler needs to go in the 1990s," he said. Eaton was lured to Chrysler from General Motors Corp. last spring to replace lacocca.

Eaton, who had been president of GM Europe, was named Chrysler's vice chairman and chief operating officer until lacocca 's retirement. lacocca will retire Dec. 31 after 14 years with Chrysler, 13 as chairman and CEO. lacocca engineered Chrysler's now-famous recovery from near collapse in the late 1970s. As Chrysler weakened again in recent years, lacocca led a second resurrection with cost-cutting and new models.

lacocca will remain on the Chrvsler board and be chairman of the board's executive commit- tee. plus not only to the consumer but to the investor." It took nearly a year for GM to identify the final seven plants to be closed. The United Auto Workers, which represents 270,000 GM hourly workers, reacted angrily and blamed management for the company's problems. "They put quick profits and Wall Street demands ahead of all else," the UAW said in a statement. "It is clear that only different principles and new priorities will guide this corporation back to health." "We're going to take it on the chin for their inability to run the business," said Tom Martin, shop chairman for UAW Local 854 in Syracuse, N.Y.

GM's downsizing, announced last Dec. 18, is one of several Chrysler $200 -100 -200 -300 400 1991 1992 AP gone over 7 million during a 10-day period. The projected rate for the entire month for domestic cars was 6.2 million. The projected rate for trucks was 4.6 million for both the month and the 10-day period. Analyst Jay Leopold, of Legg Mason Wood Walker Inc.

in Baltimore, said he expected sales to keep rising through the first half of next yenr. "It will be gradual, but at least the trend of rising sales will continue," he said. By JULIA PRODIS Associated Press DETROIT Chrysler board formalized the long-expected changing of the guard Thursday, voting Robert J. Eaton to replace retiring Lee lacocca as head of the nation's third-largest automaker. Eaton, 52, was elected chairman of the board and chief executive officer during a meeting in New York.

The appointment takes effect Jan. 1. Eaton immediately named company president Robert A. Lutz, 60, as chief operating officer, with responsibility for car and truck operations worldwide. Lutz's appointment was part of a move by Eaton to expand the chairman's officejtoy promoting three executives ip it.

Chrysler employs 3,700 at its Shutdown news, sales surge coincide From staff and wire reports General Motors decision to close seven plants comes as the industry was beginning to see reason for hope. Thursday, GM and its fellow domestic automakers reported a 22.9 percent rise in sales in late November including a 37.4 percent increase in truck sales. The industry, including imports, showed a 26.7 percent rise for truck sales in November and a 3 percent increase in car sales. 4 J- Let no one misunderstand, GM did not get in this predicament by putting workers and customers first. Rather they put quick profits and Wall Street demands ahead of all else.

It is clear that only different principles and new priorities will guide this corporation back to health. 33 Joint statement, UAW Pres. Owen Bleber and V.P. Stephen Yokkh They knew despite their hard work and best efforts, the prospects for keeping the plant open were dim. 33 U.S.

Rep. Fred Upton, R-Mlch. it Unfortunately, because of our position as the dominant state in the General Motors constellation, we got our share. We've had the benefit for a lot of years, and now, the other factor is we've got the oider facilities, too. 33 Michigan Cov.

John Engler By SUSAN TOMPOR The Detroit News The latest round of cuts at General Motors Corp. could spawn a new group of "GM gypsies" autoworkers who pack up their lives and drive hundreds of miles to work at other GM plants. These migrants keep high-paying jobs and the chance to retire from GM. But experience shows that following GM to other states has its drawbacks. "I cried for days," said Kathy Clift-Sisson, who with her husband will leave Michigan in about a month to take new jobs at GM's plant in Arlington, Texas.

"This is the hardest thing I've ever done in my life," Hundreds of GM workers shifted their lives to other states in recent years as GM has downsized. In some cases, they left families behind because they didn't want to take the chance that their new plant might close. "We had union members in 20 states at one time," said Dick Newark assembly plant, which will undergo a $137 million retooling next year to produce the new Dodge Intrepid. It currently makes the Dodge Spirit, Plymouth Acclaim and Chrysler LeBaron. The model changeover will mean an undetermined number of layoffs, Chrysler said.

Though Chrysler will be losing the marketing flair of the charismatic lacocca, it will be gaining a man dedicated to design innovation, manufacturing efficiency and international expansion, said auto analyst David Garrity of McDonald Co. Investments in Jersey City, N.J. "With the loss of lacocca, there is a man who is clearly a marketing visionary," Garrity said. "With Eaton, you have someone with international experience and who is very much focused on organizing a team for the com Eatoe to lead carmaker through '90s The jump was due largely to a sales spurt at the end of the month, said Tom Webb, chief economist for the National Automobile Dealers Association. "Auto travel over Thanksgiving was a record.

Many families must have bought right before, or decided soon after that their old clunker had made its last trip to Grandma's," he said. The projected annual sales rate for domestic cars for late November was 7.3 million the third time this year the estimate has chief operating officer. With Eaton, responsible for worldwide car and truck operations. Thomas G. Denomme, 53.

Promoted to vice president and chief administrative officer from executive vice president-corporate staff group. Handles communications, employee relations, government affairs, corporate strategy, economics office and corporate personnel. Jerome B. York, 54. Remains executive vice president and chief financial officer.

Responsible for the corporate controller, general auditor's office, tax affairs, treasurer's office, Chrysler Financial Chrysler Technologies Corpi- and Pentastar Transportation Group Inc. A look at the new leadership of Chrysler effective Jan. 1. Robert J. Eaton, 52.

Succeeds Lee lacocca as chairman and chief executive officer. For-m I Chrysler vice chairman and chief operating officer. Lured to Chrysler last March from General Motors where he EATON was president of GM Europe. Responsible for all Chrysler car and truck operations worldwide. Robert A.

Lutz60. Remains president and succeeds Eaton as.