About 750 hourly jobs will be lost at the Janesville General Motors plant this summer. Plant spokeswoman Mary Fanning says a softening in the full size SUV market has prompted the company to eliminate the second shift. Fanning does say the number of trucks produced by a single shift will increase though, from two shifts at 44 jobs per hour to one shift producing 58 jobs per hour.
The plant is currently alternating a layoff of each shift weekly to deal with a strike at an axle supplier.
"Currently we're working one shift of production and that's due to the American axle strike. So we anticipate that alternating of one shift per week will probably continue until resolution of the strike."
Not all second shifters will lose their jobs. That decision will be made by seniority. The Janesville GM plant has over 2600 hourly workers. Governor Doyle says he will assist those workers who lose their jobs with a Rapid Response Team that will expedite unemployment benefits and receive work training.
(Contributed by Stan Stricker – WCLO)
