By Mark Bashore, WKAR News
East Lansing, MI – East Lansing, MI (WKAR) - General Motors has spared Lansing's two assembly plants in its move to become viable.
But six more of the bankrupt automaker's Michigan plants will be closed or idled. That's according to its government-ordered restructuring plan announced today.
Elsewhere, the temporary idling of GM's Spring Hill, Tennessee facility later this year will have an impact on Lansing operations. Company officials say production of the Chevy Traverse crossover will move to Lansing's Delta Township plant. Jim Treese is an editor for The Automotive News in Detroit: "Once that closes, you say, okay, so where does the Chevy Traverse go? Well, it makes a lot of sense to make it in the same place the Buick Enclave and the GMC Acadia are being built. They're similar vehicles."
Treese and other industry analysts say Lansing's Delta Township and Grand River production facilities escaped the cuts because they are among the company's newest and most adaptable.
GM plants in Pontiac, Livonia, Flint and Ypsilanti Township will be closing permanently. Facilities in Pontiac and Orion are slated to be temporarily idled.