General Motors Corp. will remove 190,000 vehicles from its 2009 North American production schedule through temporary shutdowns at 13 of its plants.
"The plant down weeks are staggered and vary in duration, based on current inventory levels and expected demand for the products," say GM officials.
GM is implementing cutbacks due to all-time high vehicle inventory levels at dealerships, among other reasons. "We want to more closely align inventories with even more conservative market assumptions," saysTroy Clarke, GM North America president.
At the end of March, approximately 767,000 vehicles were in U.S. dealer stock, down about 108,000 vehicles (or 12%) compared with the same period last year, and down 105,000 vehicles from year-end 2008, according to GM numbers.