GM Eliminates Shift at Ramos Arizpe Plant

General Motors eliminated one of the two production shifts operating at its assembly plant in Ramos Arizpe, Coahuila, a measure that involves the layoff of 1,900 people.

Reports in the local press, citing Katya Muñoz, GM's director of public and government relations, indicate that vehicle production at the manufacturing facility will be reduced by 50%.

The measure is in response to the drop in demand for electric vehicles in the U.S. market after tax subsidies for the purchase of such vehicles expired last September.

The same reports indicate that the transfer of production of the gasoline-powered Chevrolet Blazer from the Ramos Arizpe complex to Spring Hill, Tennessee, scheduled for the fourth quarter of the year, will be moved up to this summer.

Union representatives estimated that with the elimination of the shift, another 5,700 workers who collaborate with companies that supply components to the assembly plant are at risk.

The layoffs come just days after General Motors announced a two-year investment of US$1 billion in Mexico to strengthen its manufacturing and marketing operations in the domestic market.