GM to close Grand Rapids, Mich. plant

October 13, 2008 – 8:38 pm – No Comment

GM is having a hard time regaining their growth and seeing profits. Recently their stock price has dropped to levels from the 1950′s. Now to help recoup some of the money lost, they are closing the Grand Rapids, Michigan metal stamping plant. The result will be over 1,400 jobs lost.

GM is hurting not only because consumers are looking for more fuel efficient cars, but are also looking for quality. Last night Chris and I were watching a special called "Saving GM" on CNBC and one of the head researchers said that the quality of the cars has improved, but that won’t change the minds of thousands of previous GM owners (like me) who were burned by a poor GM vehicle. However, when someone pulled off a lot in China with a new Chevy Aveo, it still sounded like a Chevy…puttering right off the lot.

I believe they have a lot of ground to make up and really need to appeal to their "burned" customer base.

Thousands of jobs being lost is definitely not good for any local economy either. Hopefully those who are losing their jobs will find something.