General Motors Corp., the largest U.S. automaker, will not add a third shift at the Michigan plant where it makes crossover sport-utility vehicles and will shed some jobs, a spokesman said.
The Lansing factory, which has about 2,700 hourly workers, produces GMC Acadia, Buick Enclave and Saturn Outlook SUVs, spokesman Tom Wickham said Friday in an interview. He said GM hasn't decided how many jobs will be lost, or when.
"We determined that the demand for those vehicles could be met in two shifts," Wickham said.
GM is hoping the new crossovers will help stem a seven-year sales decline. The Detroit-based automaker is betting that the SUVs, with better fuel economy than similar-sized vehicles, will draw buyers as gasoline prices have jumped past $3 a gallon.
GM had considered adding a third shift to boost production at the plant, which assembles an average of 44 vehicles an hour, Wickham said. He declined to say how many of the crossovers GM expected to build there this year.
Heidi Magyar, a spokeswoman for United Auto Workers Local 602, which represents workers at the Lansing plant, didn't immediately return a voice mail seeking comment.
Shares of GM rose 2 cents to $30.49 in trading Friday.
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