Brace Yourself, Trump: These GM Car Plants Also Are at Risk

(Bloomberg) -- General Motors Co. -- whose plan to shut four U.S. factories infuriated the president -- may have more cutting to do.

The largest U.S. automaker spared three plants that build slow-selling cars from a production restructuring Donald Trump loudly criticized this week. The factories employ more than 5,100 people, according to GM’s website.

GM’s Chevrolet Camaro plant in Lansing, Michigan; Corvette factory in Bowling Green, Kentucky; and Chevy Malibu facility in Fairfax, Kansas, all have been operating well below production capacity, according to data compiled by just-auto and Bloomberg Intelligence.

While that puts these operations in a precarious position as Chief Executive Officer Mary Barra is in ax-wielding mode, there are reasons to keep them open. Sports cars including the Corvette and Camaro typically see wild sales swings, with demand surging for revamped versions, then tapering off once they’ve been on the market a while.

Also, Cadillac has a series of new models planned for the next few years. GM could be keeping a few underutilized plants around to add production of these vehicles.

To contact the reporter on this story: David Welch in Southfield at dwelch12@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Craig Trudell at ctrudell1@bloomberg.net, Melinda Grenier

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