GM Halts 3/4-Ton and One-Ton Truck Assembly, Lays Off 6,000 Workers
Factory workers expect to deal with a couple of production line shutdowns every year. But General Motors just announced, “Flint Assembly will take extended holiday downtime to complete planned maintenance and project work.” The factory that builds GM’s 3/4-ton and one-ton pickup trucks will sit idle for four weeks, with many workers laid off. And it is not the only one. The Chevrolet Corvette factory will also shut down. Not everyone believes the pause is just for “planned maintenance.”
The oldest GM plant still in operation builds heavy-duty versions of the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra. The entire complex employs about 5,000 UAW workers. As usual, the production line will stop moving on Christmas Eve, 2025. But this year, it will not restart until at least Jan. 26. GM also announced its factory in Bowling Green, Kentucky, will close for a month this winter. That means most of its 1,100 workers will also be laid off.
Why some doubt the official explanation
On the General Motors subreddit, someone asked, “What’s going on at Flint? Down entire month of January.” One commenter weighed in: “Had to create a burner account to respond.” That makes it sound like they claim inside knowledge, though their claim is completely unverified. The commenter continued, “Flint Assembly is taking a couple of action to increase attrition of its temps…” They added, “Flint Assembly Shutdown (planned) encourages the temporary labor that doesn’t get sub pay to end their employment.”
MotorBiscuit has reached out to UAW Local 598 in Flint for comment but has not yet heard back. However, the president of UAW Local 2164 in Bowling Green did speak with us. That is the other GM plant experiencing a month of downtime this winter.
President Charles Laster said that in Bowling Green, “the majority of people will be, you know, laid off today.” But he believes the extended downtime is just to do “a little more work, that’s going to take a little more time” at the factory. He was quick to add, “We’re bringing back everybody that we’re laying off. Everybody will be back to work.”
