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Corvette Plant Employees Adjust to Production Changes
Posted: 6:35 PM Feb 27, 2009
Last Updated: 7:01 PM Feb 27, 2009
Reporter: Forrest Sanders
Email Address: forrest.sanders@wbko.com
Related Video: VetteTube - Corvette Videos, Corvette Crashes, Corvette Burnouts, Corvette Racing
December 23rd.
It was the last time workers clocked in at Bowling Green's Corvette Plant until this week.
What's going on at the Corvette Plant now is what employees refer to as a "ramp up".
They'll be back in full swing next week, but for now, they're being trained on new tasks and adjusting to a host of other new changes.
"Even back in December and the whole half of last year, we were really focused on reducing costs because of the hard economic times," says Corvette Plant manage Paul Graham. "So, now we've really increased our intensity on that."
For Corvette Plant employee Larry Blevins, it's the first week he's heard the sounds of corvettes in progress in two months.
"It gets to be part of your life," Larry explains. "You get set to a certain time. You wake up on a certain day, and you come to work, and you look forward to coming to work and seeing the folks you work with. You lose track of a lot of things."
The plant isn't quite the same as Larry remembers it.
Workers now build eleven cars an hour.
That's down from 18 in December.
"One thing General Motors is committed to is not overbuilding and matching our inventory to the demand of our customers," Graham says. "Right now, given our current economic times, there's just not the demand for this or many other vehicles of many manufacturers."
In fact, General Motors reported a loss of $30.9 billion in 2008.
"We're coming down to a point where we're just building what we need to survive in the auto industry," Larry adds.
Larry says there's cause for optimism.
A viability plan submitted to the government is now being reviewed.
"We're reinventing the company with cars like the Volt and classic cars like the Corvette," says Graham. "We're going to come out of it a very strong, profitable company. We've just got to get through this downturn the next couple years."
Posted: 6:35 PM Feb 27, 2009
Last Updated: 7:01 PM Feb 27, 2009
Reporter: Forrest Sanders
Email Address: forrest.sanders@wbko.com
Related Video: VetteTube - Corvette Videos, Corvette Crashes, Corvette Burnouts, Corvette Racing
December 23rd.
It was the last time workers clocked in at Bowling Green's Corvette Plant until this week.
What's going on at the Corvette Plant now is what employees refer to as a "ramp up".
They'll be back in full swing next week, but for now, they're being trained on new tasks and adjusting to a host of other new changes.
"Even back in December and the whole half of last year, we were really focused on reducing costs because of the hard economic times," says Corvette Plant manage Paul Graham. "So, now we've really increased our intensity on that."
For Corvette Plant employee Larry Blevins, it's the first week he's heard the sounds of corvettes in progress in two months.
"It gets to be part of your life," Larry explains. "You get set to a certain time. You wake up on a certain day, and you come to work, and you look forward to coming to work and seeing the folks you work with. You lose track of a lot of things."
The plant isn't quite the same as Larry remembers it.
Workers now build eleven cars an hour.
That's down from 18 in December.
"One thing General Motors is committed to is not overbuilding and matching our inventory to the demand of our customers," Graham says. "Right now, given our current economic times, there's just not the demand for this or many other vehicles of many manufacturers."
In fact, General Motors reported a loss of $30.9 billion in 2008.
"We're coming down to a point where we're just building what we need to survive in the auto industry," Larry adds.
Larry says there's cause for optimism.
A viability plan submitted to the government is now being reviewed.
"We're reinventing the company with cars like the Volt and classic cars like the Corvette," says Graham. "We're going to come out of it a very strong, profitable company. We've just got to get through this downturn the next couple years."
