Are GM Stocks Set To Slide More on Shutdown News?

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http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090126/ap_on_bi_ge/gm_cuts

DETROIT – General Motors Corp. said Monday it will cut 2,000 jobs at plants in Michigan and Ohio, and it will halt production for several weeks at nine U.S. plants over the next six months due to slow sales.

GM spokesman Chris Lee said the company will eliminate the second shift at its Delta Township plant near Lansing, Mich., on March 30, and the second shift at its Lordstown, Ohio, factory will end April 6.

About 1,200 workers will be laid off at the Michigan plant, while 800 jobs will be cut in Ohio.

Lee said the cuts are part of the Detroit automaker's continuing efforts to "align production with market demand" as consumers shy away from purchasing new cars and trucks during a recession. GM is operating under an assumption shared by many analysts that the auto industry will sell 10.5 million vehicles in the U.S. in 2009, down about 20 percent from last year's sales of 13.2 million.

The plant shutdowns come about a month after GM temporarily closed 20 factories across North America due to dramatically weaker automobile demand. Some were closed for the entire month of January.

The Lordstown plant stamps parts for and assembles the Chevrolet Cobalt and Pontiac G5, two of the company's most fuel-efficient vehicles. GM started running three shifts there last year when gas...