At a time when many people are leaving Michigan to find work, it might come as a surprise that nearly 500 people are making their way toward the Great Lakes State in order to get a job. People like Tommy McCall, who was born and raised in Columbia, Tennessee. “I ain’t been out of it too many times” he says. But when General Motors stopped production at the Saturn plant in Spring Hill, Tennessee, McCall was out of a job, and needed to support his wife and three kids, so it was time to move. “I was like, well I can go up there and go to work. I don’t know if I can find work down here”.
As part of its post-bankruptcy consolidation plans, General Motors decided to move production of the Chevy Traverse to the Lansing plant, where it makes its’ other crossover vehicles. A third shift was then needed at the plant, which meant a thousand more people. While none will be new hires, first dibs for those jobs went to UAW members who lost them in Tennessee, like McCall. While they’re glad to have the jobs, moving to Michigan in the middle of winter was a bit of a shock for the former southerners. “I’ve never seen so much snow in my life!” says McCall.
The addition of the third shift is a good sign, according to General Motors president Mark Reuss. “The plan we had in place in the December time frame was a conservative plan based on where we thought the industry was going to be. We’re seeing a little bit of recovery in the industry right now but more importantly we’re seeing unpredicted demand in popularity for our vehicles, which is a really good sign”. Automobile Magazine editor Jean Jennings says GM seems to be doing it right this time. “It means there’s a little sign of an uptick or at least it means GM is working in a rational fashion, which means not overproducing cars, producing the right amount of cars to sell and not have them sitting around”.
In addition to the Chevy Traverse, Reuss says, the GMC Acadia and the Buick Enclave are selling like hot cakes. That could also be good news for taxpayers. Reuss says the company is ahead of schedule in paying back bailout money. “Coming out of bankruptcy here as a company and as we start the new year in 2010, our capacity is now in line with our demand. So when we see demand rise, as we have in the September and January time frame, we’re addressing this in a very responsible way”.
Mark Reuss’ positive outlook may be correct. According to data from IHS Global Insight, GM is projected to sell nearly two and a quarter million cars in the U.S. this year, more than all the other major automakers.
Total 2010 projected U.S. Sales: 11.8 million
GM 2.23 million
Ford 1.95 million
Chrysler 988,000
Toyota 1.86 million
Honda 1.33 million
–The rest of the total sales number would be made up by the smaller carmakers combined
Click here to see comments from GM President Mark Reuss: