GM to Recall 750 Workers in Michigan

General Motors is planning on adding a third shift to a plant in Flint Michigan later this summer. The 750 jobs will be filled by laid-off GM employees. The jobs will be making the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra heavy-duty pickups to meet what GM is calling “an expected increase in demand”. Where is this demand for big trucks with rotten gas mileage (as gas prices soar)?

GM foresees growth in housing construction, which will increase demand for its heavy-duty pickups.

New home construction? Really? An article at MarketWatch cautions that any small gains in new residential construction should be viewed in light of how far home construction has fallen (seven months of 2010 set new record lows).

I am glad to hear that GM will be recalling 750 workers in the State of Michigan, but there are some things about this news that bothers me:

• Both the Silverado and the Sierra get a dismal 15 mpg (city). With gas prices stuck above $3/gallon and predictions to go much higher, does GM really think they can keep building these big trucks without improving their gas mileage?
• GM increasing production on the back of a prediction about new home construction seems like a bad idea.
  
  • With the glut of houses on the market, new home construction seems irresponsible at best.
  • Even if new home construction increases, most builders I know already have trucks. Will they really need that many new trucks to build homes? Will these builders who have been struggling to survive be rushing out to buy a $30,000 truck because they picked up a contract to build a new house or two?

For GM and home builders, I do hope this isn’t a sign of trying to return to the previous attitudes that contributed to the current mess we are all in.

OneMom