Janesville Assembly Plant

Last updated
Janesville Assembly Plant
Janesville GM Assembly Plant exterior (3550720936).jpg
Janesville Assembly Plant in 2009
Janesville Assembly Plant
BuiltMay 1, 1919 (1919-05-01)
Location Janesville, Wisconsin
Industry Automotive industry
Productscars and trucks
Employees7,000 workers at its peak in 1970
Area4,800,000 sq ft (450,000 m2)
Owner(s) General Motors (1919 - 2017)
DefunctApril 23, 2009 (2009-04-23)
Janesville Assembly's chimney Janesville GM Assembly Plant smoke stack (3550724308).jpg
Janesville Assembly's chimney

Janesville Assembly Plant was a former automobile factory owned by General Motors located in Janesville, Wisconsin. Opened in 1919, it was the oldest operating GM plant when it was largely idled in December 2008, and ceased all remaining production on April 23, 2009. The demolition of the plant was completed in 2019.

Contents

The plant covered 4,800,000 sq ft (450,000 m2). [1] It employed around 7,000 workers at its peak in 1970, but was down to about 1,200 when it ceased production of GM vehicles in December 2008. [2] [3]

Samson Tractor Division

In 1918, the Samson Tractor division of General Motors was formed from the merger of Samson Tractor of California and the Janesville Machine Company, a farm implement manufacturer. [4] A Samson Tractor Division plant employing 3,000 workers was opened in Janesville in 1919, with the first tractor produced on May 1, 1919. [5] A farm depression that started in 1920 forced Samson to curtail production and lay off more than 1,000 workers. [4] Samson eventually went bankrupt. [5] Although General Motors wanted to abandon the Janesville plant, its general manager, Joseph A. Craig, convinced the company to stay, and in 1920 GM transferred its truck production from Flint, Michigan, to the Janesville plant. [5]

Chevrolet plant

Chevrolet began producing automobiles at the plant in 1923. [6] In the same year, an adjacent Fisher Body plant began construction. [5] Production at the factory was halted during the Great Depression for about a year. In 1937 union organizers led a sit-down strike, part of a nationwide series of strikes at GM, which quickly resulted in a national contract. [5] During World War II, the Janesville plants were taken over by General Motors' Oldsmobile Division, and produced artillery. [7]

Production of automobiles resumed following the war. In 1953, a second shift was added to both the Chevrolet and the Fisher Body factories. [5] In April 1967, the 100 millionth GM vehicle was produced at the Chevrolet plant. [5]

View of Janesville Assembly Plant from across Rock River Janesville GM Assembly Plant (3549917605).jpg
View of Janesville Assembly Plant from across Rock River
North entrance of Janesville Assembly Plant in 2009 Janesville GM Assembly Plant - North entrance (3550721254).jpg
North entrance of Janesville Assembly Plant in 2009

In 1969, the Chevrolet and Fisher Body factories joined to form the General Motors Assembly Division. [5] Peak production at the Janesville Assembly occurred in 1977, when there were 7,100 employees, and 274,286 cars and 114,681 trucks were produced. [5]

In the 1980s General Motors moved large car production from Janesville and started making subcompact J-cars, such as the Chevrolet Cavalier. In 1987 the company moved Janesville's pickup line to the Fort Wayne, Indiana assembly plant. [5] Local efforts resulted in GM moving medium-duty truck and full-size sport-utility production from plants in Michigan to Janesville. [5] By 1992 it was the only GM plant manufacturing large SUVs. In 2002 GM returned Janesville's medium-duty truck production to Flint, Michigan.

Most recently the Janesville Assembly built full-size SUVs. [7] It was one of three plants producing the GMT900 trucks, such as the Chevrolet Suburban. It began building the next-generation short-wheelbase GMT900 trucks in January 2006 and the long-wheelbase GMT900 trucks in March of that year and an overtime shift was added to meet demand.[ citation needed ] From 1994 until 2009, the plant also produced medium-duty trucks for Isuzu under its partnership with GM. [8]

In 2006, the Janesville GM Assembly plant achieved a milestone of producing more than 500,000 full-size sport utility vehicles with E85 FlexFuel capable engines. The Janesville employees were recognized in a ceremony at the plant that included Wisconsin governor Jim Doyle (D).

In 2007, discussion of greenhouse gas fuel emissions regulations sparked a dialogue about the future of the Janesville GM plant. [9] That same year United Auto Workers Local 95 participated in a strike at the facility. [10]

Decommissioning

In 2008, fuel prices, the related slow sales of SUVs, and the economy resulted in GM cutting back full-time production at the Janesville plant to a single shift. Combined with an ongoing employee buy-out program, layoffs totaled around 750 jobs in July 2008. [11] During GM's annual shareholder meeting on June 3, 2008, CEO Rick Wagoner announced that the Janesville assembly plant would close by 2010, along with three other GM factories, and could close sooner if the market dictated. [12] The cutbacks announced, along with other changes, were expected to save the North American division $1 billion per year starting in 2010. [13] GM extended its annual summer shutdown an additional two weeks and planned another ten weeks of shutdown for the remainder of 2008 because of excess inventories of SUVs made at the plant. [14]

External image
Searchtool.svg "Last day at GM" Janesville Gazette photos from December 23, 2008

In October 2008, GM announced that the production of SUVs at the Janesville Assembly would end December 23, 2008. [15] [16] On that day workers gathered at a ceremony with a banner reading "Last Vehicle off the Janesville Assembly Line". [17] The last GM vehicle produced, a black 2009 Chevrolet Tahoe, was donated to the United Way of North Rock County, which raffled the vehicle off. [18]

57 production employees continued assembly work at the Janesville Assembly until April 23, 2009, completing the GM/Isuzu light truck partnership and then an additional 40 to 50 "skilled trade employees" worked to decommission the plant. [19]

2015 and beyond

General Motors placed the factory on standby until at least 2015 when the company and employee unions negotiate a new contract. The factory was one of three — along with Orion Assembly and Spring Hill Manufacturing - that General Motors kept on standby during their bankruptcy. It was the only one still on standby status in 2014. The factory can only be completely closed by agreement of both General Motors and the United Automobile Workers. [20]

As of January 2016, GM had signed a new contract with the United Auto Workers that cleared the way for selling the Janesville plant. [21] Water or ground contamination on the north and south sides of the plant have delayed the sale of the plant. GM was working with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources to clean up that area. [22] As of February 2016, GM was working with CBRE Group of Los Angeles to market the 250 acre site (excluding the contaminated area on the north side of the site) on a global market, hoping to have a buyer by 2017. [23]

Demolition of the plant began in 2018 [24] and was largely completed by early 2019. [25]

Former products

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Isuzu</span> Japanese multinational automobile manufacturer

Isuzu Motors Ltd., commonly known as Isuzu, is a Japanese multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture. Its principal activity is the production, marketing and sale of Isuzu commercial vehicles and diesel engines.

GMT is a nomenclature used by General Motors to designate multiple vehicle platforms. In use since the early 1980s, the GMT nomenclature is used for light trucks, full-size SUVs, and vans, along with several medium-duty trucks. With only a few exceptions, nearly all GMT vehicles use body-on-frame construction, along with rear-wheel drive powertrain configurations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">DMAX (engines)</span> American Diesel engine manufacturer

DMAX is an American manufacturer of the Duramax V8 diesel engines for trucks, based in Dayton, Ohio. Engine production began in Moraine, Ohio in 2000.

Arlington Assembly is a General Motors automobile factory located in Arlington, Texas. The plant has operated for more than 60 years and today manufactures large SUVs from GM's divisions Chevrolet, GMC and Cadillac.

Flint Assembly is an automobile factory operated by General Motors in Flint, Michigan. It is the city's only vehicle assembly plant after the closure of Buick City. Flint Truck Assembly is also GM's oldest, still operating assembly plant in North America. As of 2022, the Flint factory currently produces full-size pickup trucks. Engine block and cylinder heads were cast at Saginaw Metal Casting Operations, internal engine components were created at Bay City Powertrain and Grand Rapids Operations, and the engines were then assembled at Tonawanda Engine and Romulus Engine. For most of the 20th century Flint Assembly was the home factory for all Chevrolet vehicles.

Oklahoma City Assembly was a General Motors automobile factory in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

Shreveport Operations, officially the Shreveport Assembly and Stamping Plant, was a General Motors vehicle factory in Shreveport, Louisiana. The 3,100,000-square-foot (290,000 m2) factory opened in 1981 and produced the company's compact pickup trucks alongside the Moraine Assembly in Dayton, Ohio. At one point, 3,000 employees were on the payroll. Construction of the plant began in 1978, with an expansion in 2002 that included a new stamping facility.

Linden Assembly was a General Motors automobile factory in Linden, New Jersey, United States. The plant operated from 1937 to 2005 and made cars, trucks and SUVs for various GM automotive divisions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Louis Truck Assembly</span> Former American factory

St. Louis Truck Assembly was a General Motors automobile factory that built GMC and Chevrolet trucks, GM "B" body passenger cars, and the 1954–1981 Corvette models in St. Louis. Opened in the 1920s as a Fisher body plant and Chevrolet chassis plant, it expanded facilities to manufacture trucks on a separate line. During World War II, the plant produced the DUKW amphibious vehicles for the military. Another expansion was added for the Corvette line in 1953.

Leeds Assembly was a General Motors automobile factory in Leeds, Missouri. It was closed in 1988. The factory produced the A-bodies and J-bodies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chevrolet Kodiak</span> Series of medium-duty trucks by General Motors

The Chevrolet Kodiak and GMC TopKick are a range of medium-duty trucks that were produced by the Chevrolet and GMC divisions of General Motors from 1980 to 2009. Introduced as a variant of the medium-duty C/K truck line, three generations were produced. Slotted between the C/K trucks and the GMC Brigadier Class 8 conventional, the Kodiak/TopKick were developed as a basis for vocationally oriented trucks, including cargo haulers, dump trucks, and similar vehicles; on later generations, both cutaway and cowled-chassis variants were produced for bus use.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lordstown Assembly</span> Factory building in Lordstown, Ohio, U.S.

The Lordstown Complex is a factory building and automotive manufacturing plant in Lordstown, Ohio, U.S. Lordstown is an industrial suburb of Youngstown, Ohio.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moraine Assembly</span> Automobile factory in Moraine, Ohio, United States

Moraine Assembly was a General Motors automobile factory in Moraine, Ohio, United States, a suburb of Dayton. A Frigidaire appliance plant had originally operated on the site from 1951 to 1979. Starting in 1981, the Chevrolet S-10 small pickup was produced. This same model was produced by Shreveport Assembly. In 1987 through 1994 the plant produced the rolling chassis for the Grumman LLV Postal Vehicle. From 2001 through 2008, the plant produced the GMT360 SUVs. The plant was closed in December 2008. In 2014, the facilities were acquired by Fuyao Glass to produce glass for vehicles.

Oshawa Truck Assembly was a General Motors Canada automotive factory in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada. It opened in its original location in downtown Oshawa in 1918 in order to build ambulances for World War I and Chevrolet vehicles before it merged with GM.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">GMT900</span> Motor vehicle platform

The GMT900 is a General Motors full-size pickup and SUV platform used from the 2007 to 2014 model years. The platform was introduced at the 2006 North American International Auto Show, as the replacement for the GMT800 platform. The first GMT900 vehicle introduced was the next-generation Chevrolet Tahoe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">GMT800</span> Motor vehicle platform

The GMT800 was a General Motors full-size truck platform used from the 1999 through 2009 model years. It is the foundation for the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickups; and the derivative GMT820 and GMT830 versions for the Chevrolet Tahoe/GMC Yukon and the Chevrolet Suburban/GMC Yukon XL full-size SUVs, respectively. This platform was the successor to the GMT400 series of C/K pickups and SUVs, and was replaced for 2007 by the GMT900 line.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oshawa Car Assembly</span> Vehicle manufacturing facility in Oshawa, Ontario

Oshawa Assembly is a manufacturing facility in the city of Oshawa, Ontario, Canada, that built various automobiles for General Motors Canada.

Orion Assembly is a 4,300,000 sq ft (400,000 m2) General Motors vehicle assembly plant located in Orion Township, Michigan. From late 2025, the plant is slated to assemble battery electric pickup trucks such as the Chevrolet Silverado EV and the GMC Sierra EV. As of September 2019, the plant has approximately 1,032 salaried and hourly employees. It assumed operations of Buick City, and Pontiac Assembly.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Samson Tractor</span> Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of the United States

Samson Tractor was an American brand of tractors 1900 to 1923, of trucks from 1920 to 1923, and a General Motors brand from 1917 to 1923.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">GMT K2XX</span> Motor vehicle platform

GMT K2XX is an assembly code for a vehicle platform architecture developed by General Motors for its line of full-size trucks and large SUVs that started production with the 2014 model year. The "XX" is a placeholder for the last two digits of the specific assembly code for each model. The platform, which replaced the GMT900 series that had been in production from 2007 to 2013, was introduced in April 2013 for the 2014 Model Year on the trucks, followed by the December 2013 production on the 2015 large SUVs that debuted in February 2014. The GMT K2XX products are being produced at four GM assembly plants: Arlington, Flint, and Fort Wayne in the United States, along with Silao Assembly in Mexico for the crew cab light duty pickups.

References

  1. ↑ General Motors. Janesville Assembly fact sheet Archived October 25, 2007, at the Wayback Machine . Accessed June 27, 2008.
  2. ↑ James P. Leute. "Thursday is last day of production as Isuzu line comes to end" Archived August 1, 2016, at the Wayback Machine , Janesville Gazette, April 21, 2009.
  3. ↑ "State offered $195 million in failed bid for GM plant". Wisconsin State Journal. July 7, 2009. Archived from the original on 2009-07-10. Retrieved 2009-07-10.
  4. 1 2 "Through the years: Chronicling the history of GM in Janesville" Archived August 1, 2016, at the Wayback Machine , Janesville Gazette, December 22, 2008. Retrieved September 16, 2013.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Mike Dupre'. "GM has long, rich history in Janesville" Archived August 2, 2016, at the Wayback Machine , Janesville Gazette, June 3, 2008. Retrieved September 16, 2013.
  6. ↑ Goldstein, Amy (2018-11-30). "Perspective : When GM closes a plant, workers lose their jobs. But the city loses its spirit". Washington Post. Retrieved 2018-12-02.
  7. 1 2 "Can GM's oldest plant survive latest cutbacks?". Detroit News. Archived from the original on January 21, 2013. Retrieved June 14, 2005.
  8. ↑ "ISUZU: GM-Isuzu Relations". Isuzu. Archived from the original on 2008-02-02. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
  9. ↑ "Emissions fuel debate | GazetteXtra". 2 November 2007. Archived from the original on 2016-08-01. Retrieved 2012-08-30.. The Janesville Gazette, November 3, 2007.
  10. ↑ CNNMoney.com. . September 25, 2007.
  11. ↑ Barry Adams (April 29, 2008). "Janesville GM plant cutting 750 jobs". Wisconsin State Journal . Retrieved 2008-04-29.[ permanent dead link ]
  12. ↑ "GM closing Janesville assembly plant". The Business Journal. June 3, 2008.
  13. ↑ General Motors Press Conference - Annual Meeting of Stockholders. Rick Wagoner, General Motors Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. Wilmington, Delaware. June 3, 2008.
  14. ↑ Janesville Gazette. Janesville GM plant targeted for downtime Archived September 7, 2008, at the Wayback Machine . June 24, 2008.
  15. ↑ The Capital Times. GM to close Janesville plant on December 23 2008 [ permanent dead link ]. October 13, 2008.
  16. ↑ Jim Leute, "GM employees get official word," Janesville Gazette, October 13, 2008.
  17. ↑ "Last day at GM". The Janesville Gazette, December 23, 2008.
  18. ↑ Jim Leute and Stacy Vogel. "Retired GM worker wins the last Tahoe off the line" Archived August 1, 2016, at the Wayback Machine , Janesville Gazette, February 25, 2009. Retrieved September 16, 2013.
  19. ↑ The Janesville Gazette. GM Thursday is last day of production as Isuzu line comes to end Archived August 1, 2016, at the Wayback Machine . April 21, 2009.
  20. ↑ Leute, Jim (June 30, 2013). "Analysts: 2015 could be telling year for Janesville GM plant". Janesville Gazette. Retrieved July 12, 2014.
  21. ↑ "Our Views: GM redevelopment is 'seminal' issue in Janesville's future (Editorial)". Gazette Extra. Janesville, WI. January 16, 2016.
  22. ↑ Schultz, Frank (December 18, 2015). "General Motors looking to sell Janesville plant within a year". Gazette-Extra.
  23. ↑ "GM expects to find buyer within a year for former car plant in Janesville". Channel 3000. Madison, WI. February 2, 2016. Archived from the original on February 3, 2016. Retrieved February 2, 2016.
  24. ↑ "Demolition of former GM plant has begun, with the state giving Janesville $500,000 to help". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved 2018-12-02.
  25. ↑ "Smokestack demolition marks the end of an era at Janesville's GM plant". WKOW. Retrieved 2024-01-05.

Further reading

42°39′47.93″N89°1′14.02″W / 42.6633139°N 89.0205611°W / 42.6633139; -89.0205611

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.