GM task force's task becomes more urgent
GM plans to step up closures time line
> GM Moraine plant closing
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
MORAINE — General Motors Corp.'s plans to cut truck production further — and faster — gives impetus to the local work of preparing for the closure of GM's Moraine plant, area observers said Tuesday, July 15.
Deb Norris, vice president of workforce development for Sinclair Community College, said the work ahead of a local task force formed to deal with the closing of the GM-Moraine plant is the same. The goal is to help workers where possible, directing them to other careers, while they still have employment, she said.
"I think the work is still the same. I think it re-enforces the sense of urgency overall," Norris said.
Dave Hicks, Moraine city manager, said the task force formed to simultaneously fight for the plant and prepare for its closure will have to become more aggressive, pursuing all possible leads as quickly as it can.
"It's going to be tough," Hicks said.
Jon Husted, speaker of the Ohio House of Representatives, said he is meeting with developers about the GM-Moraine plant and its possible future uses.
"I've already talked with developers who have taken vacant auto plants and converted them to other uses and have some expertise in that area," Husted said. He wouldn't identify developers with whom he's speaking.
"I'm not waiting for any GM announcement," Husted added.
The Kettering Republican said he didn't want to create false hopes, and he didn't point to any possible leads or inquiries into local plants. But he thinks the Miami Valley needs to be pursue alternatives for not just the GM-Moraine facility, but empty Delphi plants, too.
Dan Foley, Montgomery County commissioner and task force member, encouraged GM employees and those who have taken recent GM buy-outs to rely on the Montgomery County jobs center on Edwin Moses Boulevard and a Moraine transition center for displaced automotive employees. "That's really the most important message to any GM employee," Foley said.
The transition center on Dryden Road was opened about two years ago to help GM and Delphi workers secure local assistance, Foley said.
In discussing other possible careers, Norris pointed to hard-to-fill local jobs identified by work force research firm Manpower. Those jobs include CNC machinists, industrial maintenance, call center work and more.
"It's all about the demand," Norris said.
General Motors cuts
• Salaried headcount cuts in the U.S. and Canada in 2008 through attrition, early retirements, mutual separation programs and more.
• Cut health care coverage for salaried employees over 65 effective Jan. 1, 2009.
• Cancel base pay raises for U.S. and Canadian salaried employees for the rest of 2008 and 2009.
• Revise capital spending and cutting about $1.5 billion in expenditures versus prior plans.
• Cut raw material, work-in-progress and finished goods inventory levels.
• Suspend future dividends on common stock, effective immediately.
Source: GM
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2390 or tgnau@DaytonDailyNews.com.
