GM temporarily idles 2 U.S. plants

General Motors Corp. will temporarily close two U.S. factories for one week each in the coming months to keep inventory in line with lower demand, the company said Monday.

Spokesman Tony Sapienza said the Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly Plant will be idled for one week starting Nov. 24. The factory employs 1,785 people and makes the Buick Lucerne and Cadillac DTS sedans.

A factory in Bowling Green, Ky., that makes Chevrolet Corvettes and the Cadillac XLR sports cars will be idled the week of Dec. 1. The plant employs about 900 workers. GM previously said that the Cadillac assembly line will be shut down that week.

Lucerne and DTS sales are each down 32 percent through the first nine months of the year. Cadillac XLR sales are off 26 percent and Corvette sales are off 9 percent. The plants are scheduled to reopen after the one-week shutdowns.

The company also extended the temporary shutdown of its Wilmington, Del., assembly plant for three more weeks because of slow demand for the vehicles it makes. The factory’s 1,500 workers make the Saturn Sky, Pontiac Solstice and Opel GT two-seat roadsters. The plant will be idled starting this week and reopen the first week of December. (Associated Press)