GM to Eliminate Shift at Tennessee SUV Plant, Lay Off Hundreds of Workers

By Mike Colias 

General Motors Co. will lay of several hundred workers at a sport-utility plant in Tennessee, a sign that the slowdown in the broader car market is spreading to once-hot SUVs.

GM notified employees at its Spring Hill, Tenn., assembly plant Friday that the company will lay off the overnight shift because of "moderating" sales of the two crossover SUV models built there. About 1,000 people work on that shift, though some might be able to transfer to other parts of the operation, which also makes engines and other components, a GM spokesman said.

"Although crossovers now make up a larger share of the automotive industry, overall volumes are moderating," GM said in its notice. "We believe the best way to react...is to reduce output."

The factory makes the GMC Acadia and Cadillac XT5 crossover SUVs. Both vehicles are part of a slew of new or overhauled SUVs that GM is counting on to drive U.S. sales and profit growth as demand for passenger cars continues to wane.

U.S. vehicle sales have cooled this year after a seven-year growth spurt and two straight years of record volumes. Healthy pickup-truck and SUV demand has helped offset a sharp decline in sales of passenger cars, though signs of a slowdown in those more-profitable segments have surfaced in recent months.

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 22, 2017 19:21 ET (23:21 GMT)

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