Although an actual production slowdown has been postponed indefinitely, General Motors has announced a third week of downtime is coming for the Lordstown, Ohio assembly plant.
According to local news affiliate WKBN27, the Chevrolet Cruze’s birthplace will shut down for one week beginning on July 17. The previously announced two-week shutdown will still take place in June and July for a total of three idle weeks at the Lordstown facility.
UAW Local 1714 President Robert Morales confirmed the additional downtime and stated the third week is part of General Motors’ strategy to realign supply with market demand. The 2017 Chevrolet Cruze has been largely overshadowed by crossovers, trucks and SUVs since it went on sale—a far cry from the booming success of the first generation compact car.
GM builds the Chevrolet Cruze hatchback variant in Mexico, a decision President Donald Trump has lambasted in the past. In the process, he threatened a 35 percent import tax on U.S. vehicles made in Mexico coming back into the country.
Last year, GM announced shutdowns at many of its passenger car plants to curb mounting inventories. GM as a whole is largely responsible for a number of unsold vehicles in the U.S. market.
Comments
We may see the Cruze hatchback being built in both locations. Mexico would be for local and export to other Countries.
Hatch seems to be where the market is headed.
This should have been done initially. Manufacturers tend to follow trends too late in the game.
Former Cruze owner, and wouldn’t mind getting back into one. I live in Ohio… personally I would only consider the sedan at this time. Bring hatch production here. Give me one with a 6 speed manual, sporty appearance, and good power. Ideally something that stacks up to the Focus ST and GTI.